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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



•The 




THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DAIXAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



AROUND THE YEAR 
IN THE GARDEN 



A SEASONABLE GUIDE AND REMINDER FOR 

WORK WITH VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND 

FLOWERS, AND UNDER GLASS 



BY 

FREDERICK FRYE ROCKWELL 



" u . 



AUTHOR OF HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING, GARDENING 

INDOORS AND UNDER GLASS," " THE KEY TO 

THE LAND," ETC. 



Illustrated with Photographs by the Author and 
E. R. Rollins 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1917 

All rights reserved 



i 









Copyright, 1913, 1914 and 1915 
By the CURTIS PUBLISHING CO. 
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO. - 
McBRIDE, NAST & CO. 

Copyright, 1917 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1917. 



SEP 13 1917 

V 



, , ©CLA476048 

b 



Fraternally 
DEDICATED 

• TO THAT GOOD FELLOWSHIP OF GARDENERS 

WHO, TILLING THEIR OWN SMALL PLOTS, 
INCREASE THE EARTH's BOUNTY AND BEAUTY. 



INVITATION 

In golden April weather, 

In sun and wind and rain, 
Let us fare forth and follow 
Beneath the spring's first swallow 
By budding break and heather 

To the good brown soil again! 

With rake and seeds and sower, 

And hoe and line and reel. 
When the meadows shrill with "peeping" 
And the old world wakes from sleeping, 
Who wouldn't be a grower 

That has any heart to feel? 

Delve in! The year's before us; 

Spring's promise fills the air. 
Descendants of Antaeus, 
The brown earth's touch can free us, 
Renew us and restore us. 

From the hand o' carking care. 

Work, through the summer golden. 
And through the autumn's glow, 

Till the months lay down their burden 

In the full garden's guerdon. 

And earth, once more enfolden. 
Sleeps warm beneath the snow. 

And for our work — though showers 
And autumn frosts destroy — 

Our greatest pay's not measured 

In fruit and flower we've treasured, 

But in the golden hours 
That brought us health and joy! 



vu 



FOREWORD 

This book is designed for the busy man or woman whose 
spare time available for gardening is limited, and who, con- 
sequently, is interested in utilizing every hour to the best 
purpose. Seasonable and definite directions are given for 
the various tasks encountered in caring for the garden and 
grounds on the moderate sized place, where the services 
of a professional gardener are lacking. On the other hand, 
piece-meal and didactic directions, and "calendar garden- 
ing," have been avoided. The dates mentioned in con- 
nection with the chapters are for the convenience of the 
reader, as indicating when the work described should be 
given attention, or can be done to the greatest advantage, — 
in most instances well in advance of the time for actually 
doing the work, so that plans may be made, varieties 
selected, materials obtained, and annoying delays avoided. 



IX 



CONTENTS 

Page 

January: First Week i 

Make Your Plans Now for Spring and Summer Work. 

" Second Week 6 

An Equipment of Tools for this Summer's Success. 

" Third Week 13 

Up-to-date Tools, Suggestions about their Selection, 
Use and Care. 

" Fourth Week 21 

Vegetable Seeds to Order for the Summer Season. 

February: First Week 29 

Make a Plan now — and Follow it this Summer. 

" Second Week 36 

Starting Seeds in Greenhouse or Hot-Bed. 

" Third Week 45 

Plans for this Year's Flower Garden. 

" Fourth Week 49 

Making the Soil Rich; Manures; Fertilizers and Humus. 

March: First Week 55 

Bush and Tree Fruits for the Small Place; Quantities 
Needed; Good Varieties. 

" Second Week 62 

Growing Strong Plants for Vegetable and Flower Gardens. 

" Third Week 69 

The First Planting and Seeding in the Open Garden. 

" Fourth Week 75 

First Planting of Flowers Out-doors; Pruning Roses; 
Work with the Hardy Border; Getting a Start with 
Annuals. 

April: First Week 82 

Pointers on Planting; Protection from Late Frosts; Labels 
and Markers; Care of Tools. 
zi 



xii CX)NTENTS 

Page 

April: Second Week 8S 

Making New Perennial Gardens and Borders; New Straw- 
berry and Asparagus Beds. 

** Third Week 93 

Putting the Home Grounds into Shape; Making Walks, 
Roads, Curves, and Grades; First Work with the Lawn; 
Propagating Cane and Bush Fruits. 

** Fourth Week 102 

Keeping up with Garden Schedule; Hardening off Plants; 
Tender Plants in Paper Pots. 

" Fifth Week 108 

Spring and Summer Spraying for Fruit; Starting the Vine 
Crops Right. 

May: First Week 116 

Care of Asparagus, Rhubarb, Sea Kale; the Cane Fruits; 
Grapes; the New Strawberry Bed; Fall Fruiting Straw- 
berries. 

" Second Week 123 

Flowers for this Summer's Bloom; Planting Roses; Baby 
Ramblers; Dahlias; Asters. 

" Third Week 130 

Fertilizing, Weeding and Thinning in the Vegetable Gar- 
den; Points on Picking. 

** Fourth Week 135 

Controlling Insects and Diseases in Flower and Vegetable 
Garden; Sprays and Sprayers and their Use. 

June: First Week 141 

Vegetables for Fall and Winter; Succession Crops. 

" Second Week 148 

Fighting Dry Weather; Mulching; Watering; Modern 
Irrigation. 

" Third Week iS3 

Summer Work in the Rose Garden; Insects; Diseases; 
Summer Pruning; Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh. 

** Fourth Week 159 

Celery for Fall and Winter; Buying Plants; Transplanting; 
Culture; Early Blanching. 



CONTENTS xni 

Page 

July: First Week 165 

Midsummer Work in the Vegetable Garden: Saving the 
Soil Moisture; Egg-Plants and Peppers; the Vine Crops, 
Transplanting in Dry Weather; Late Planting. 

" Second Week 172 

Starting Perennials and Biennials from Seed for Next 
Year's Gardens. 

" Third Week 177 

Summer Work with Strawberries: Care of the Spring 
Planted Bed; Remaking the Old Bed; Potted Plants; 
Starting the New Bed; Fall Bearing Strawberries. 

" Fourth Week 183 

Linking the Garden to the House; Summer Houses; Per- 
golas; Trellises; Vines to Cover them. 

" Fifth Week 189 

Crops that Make the Garden Rich: "Green Manuring;" 
Soil "Binders" for Winter Cover; Inoculating to In- 
sure Success. 

August: First Week 194 

Getting House Plants Ready for Winter Bloom: New 
Plants from Seeds and Cuttings; Summer Care of Potted 
Plants; Plants from the Garden for Winter Flowering; 
Making New Rubber Plants. 

' " Second Week 200 

Making a New Lawn; Remaking an Old One; Peonies to 
Plant Now. 

** Third Week 207 

Evergreens and Shrubs for Fall Planting: Planning an 
Artistic Planting; Varieties for Special Purposes. 

Fourth Week 212 

Planning and Building a Small Greenhouse: Materials; 
Construction; Heating. 

Se^rt^nber : First Week 221 

Late Work in the Vegetable Garden: Last Plantings; 
Getting Ready for the First Frosts; Preparing for 
Winter Work under Glass. 



xlv CONTENTS 

Page 

September: Second Week 226 

Fall Bulbs: Plan now to Secure a Long Season of Bloom 
' Next Spring; Types and Varieties. 

" Third Week 235 

Fall Planting of Shrubs and Other Ornamentals: When 
to Plant; Preparation of Soil; Treatment on Receipt; 
Pruning. 

" Fourth Week 240 

Perennials for Planting and Replanting this Fall: Phlox, 
Iris, Peonies. 

" Fifth Week 248 

Bulbs for Winter Bloom: Narcissi, Hyacinths, and Tulips 
for Forcing; Other Flowering Bulbs; Cuttings to Root 
Now. 

October: First Week 256 

Hot-Bed and Cold Frame Gardening: Equipment; Soil; 
Heating; Varieties of Vegetables for Forcing. 

" Second Week 264 

Planting Bulbs for Next Year's Bloom: Propagating 
Roses. 

" Third Week 270 

Sav^ing the Season's Produce: Harvesting and Storing 
Vegetables and Fruits. 

" Fourth Week 276 

Fresh Vegetables all Winter: Plan to Keep the Small 
Greenhouse Busy with Succession Crops until Spring. 

" Fifth Week 283 

Concrete: What you can do with it: and how to use it. 
Iron Pipe for Many Purposes, 

November: First Week 288 

Making House Plants at Home for the Winter : The Condi- 
tions that Favor Healthy Growth; the Problem of 
Heating. Materials for next Spring. 

" Second Week 295 

Fruits and Vegetables in Storage; Odds and Ends of Out- 
side Work; Roots for Forcing; "Buds" for Grafting; 
Making Beds and Borders for Spring Planting. 



CONTENTS XV 

Page 

November: Third Week 302 

Putting the Garden to Sleep for the Winter: Protection of 
Roses; Shrubs; Bulbs; Perennials; Small Fruits. Chrys- 
anthemums for Stock Plants; Materials for Spring 
Work Indoors. 

" Fourth Week 309 

Work for the Home Tree Doctor: How to Repair Old 
Wounds and Splits. Fall Trenching and Draining. 

December: First Week 315 

The Winter Window Garden: Ventilation; Moisture; Soil; 
Care. Propagating Bushes and Shrubs. 

" Second Week 322 

The Winter Campaign in Orchard and Garden: Winter 
Spraying; Winter Pruning of Fruit Trees; Cane Fruits 
and Shrubs. 

" Third Week 329 

The Care of Gift Plants after Christmas. How to Keep 
Them in Good Condition and Save Them for Another 
Year. Pick out Shrubs for Winter Beauty Now. 

** Fourth Week 336 

Starting Plants for Next. Summer's Flower Garden : How 
to Make and Root Cuttings; Potting and Care. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

* Frontispiece. — Every Home Should Have a Garden! Facins tase 
Plate i. — A Warm Frame in a Cool Greenhouse for Starting Early- 
Seeds. Sowing Seeds in a Flat 40 -^ 

Plate 2. — Sowing Seeds of Different Sizes and the Depth to Cover 
Them. Seedling Plants Ready for Transplanting. Sub-watering 
of Seedling Plants after Transplanting 41*^ 

Plate 3. — An Attractive Arrangement of Quick Growing, Inexpensive 

Plants 66 * 

Plate 4. — Plants Ready for Repotting. The Proper Method of Re- 
moving a Plant from a Pot for Examining the Roots or Re- 
potting 67 "^ 

Plate 5. — Double Plow Attachment for Wheel Hoe. Setting out Let- 
tuce Plants 70 * 

Plate 6. — Using a Board for Sowing Seed in a Small Garden. Firm- 
ing the Seed after Sowing 71 ^ 

Plate 7. — Plant Forcers and Protectors 84*' 

Plate 8. — Firming the Soil about a Plant after Transplanting. Pro- 
tection of Transplanted Plants from Sun to Prevent Wilting ... 85 ' 

Plate 9. — A Modern Combination Seed Drill and Wheel Hoe. Melons 
Started under Glass in Paper Pots for Setting out Later. Pot 
Grown Tomato Plants. Cabbage and Lettuce Plants Trimmed 
Ready for Transplanting io^ilI 

Plate id. — A Good Type of Compressed Air Sprayer. A Supply of 
Insecticides and Fungicides such as Should be Kept on Hand 
for the Home Garden loda'' 

Plate ii. — The Proper Way to Thin out and Cut Back Gooseberry 

and Currant Bushes 122 '^ 

Plate 12. — White Fly on Under Side of Foliage of Fuschia. A Good 
Type of Compressed Air Sprayer with Shoulder Strap for Use in 
Small Gardens 123 • 

Plate 13. — Two Types of Modern Spray Irrigation, Suitable for Either 

Flower or Vegetable Garden iSo*-- 

zvii 



xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing page 
Plate 14. — Nozzle Line Irrigation for the Lawns and Grounds. Valves 

and Turning Apparatus for the Control of Irrigation 151^ 

Plate 15. — Home made Summer House and Home made Pergola. . . . idc 

Plate 16. — Shaded Frames for Starting Plants in Summer. Pansy 

Seedlings Ready for Transplanting 161 ^' 

Plate 17. — Making Potted Strawberry Plants. Strawberry Runner 

Ready for Transplanting 180 '^ 

Plate 18. — Flat of Celery Plants Ready for Transplanting. Celery 

Plants Trimmed back Ready for Planting 181 ^ 

Plate 19. — Modern Method of Blanching Celery with Paper Tubes, 

Banking up Celery for Later Use 194''^ 

Plate 20. — Cutting Back and Potting a Geranium Plant for Winter 

Bloom 195 ^ 

Plate 21. — Method of Sowing Grass Seed to Get an Even Stand for a 
New Lawn. Chinese or Air Layering of Rubber Plant to get a 
New Shapely Plant from an Old One 248"^^ 

Plate 22. — Bulbs Growing in Water. Cross Section of Pot Showing 

Method of Growing Bulbs for Forcing 249^ 

Plate 23. — Cold Frame with Double Glazed Sash for Winter Crops. . . 260 

Plate 24. — Crates and Barrels for Storing Vegetables. Beets and 

Carrots Packed in Moss for Winter Storage 261 ^ 

Plate 25. — Method of Storing Cabbage for Winter. Ripening Toma- 
toes after Frost 274 '^ 

Plate 26. — Individual Rose Bush and Rose Bed Protected for the 

Winter 275 ^'' 

Plate 27. — Progressive Steps in Clearing Out and Repairing Old 

Wounds in an Apple Tree 310 

Plate 28. — New Trees from Old! How to Cut Back and Re-Form an 

Old Tree 324 

Plate 29. — Later Treatment of the Same Tree Showing the Formation 

of the New Head 325 

Plate 30. — Geranium Cuttings Ready for Rooting. Begonia Cuttings 

Ready to Pot Up from the Cutting Bed 336 

Plate 31. — Geraniums Cut Back Preparatory to Making New Growth 

for Cuttings in the Spring 337 



INTRODUCTION 

Timeliness, which is of importance in achieving success 
in almost any undertaking, is particularly important in 
garden operations. One may postpone building a garage, 
or buying a new car, for a week or a month, or even six 
months, and when he again considers the matter find 
conditions the same as they were before; but the delay of a 
week or two in making a hot-bed, planting a hardy border, 
or setting out evergreens, may mean upsetting a garden 
plan for a whole season, the loss of a year's time in getting 
results, or the waste of expensive plants. Conditions of 
temperature and soil are constantly changing, and unless 
one can keep the garden work caught up, or a little ahead, 
the routine tasks cannot be done successfully and with a 
minimum of labor, nor time be gained for those extra things 
which make it possible to build up and improve the place. 

On the other hand, the gardener who imagines that his 
work can be reduced to a set of rules and formulae, followed 
and applied according to special days marked on the cal- 
endar, is but preparing himself for a double disappointment. 
Few things are so certain to be uncertain as the seasons and 
the weather; and these, rather than a set of dates, even for 
a single locality, form the signs which the real gardener fol- 
lows. That is the great trouble with much book and mag- 
azine gardening. 

But there is a more important argument against such 
follow-the-rule gardening, even were it possible to succeed 
with it. It would be a joyless gardening! It might be 
cheaper, but it would be little more attractive, than garden- 
ing at the grocers' and the florists', — where the most 
certain results are to be had with the least labor. 

No: to be efficient, and what is even more important, to 
find exhilaration and recreation in his work, or hers, the 

six 



XX INTRODUCTION 

gardener must know not only what to do, and when it 
should be done, but why it should be done. In fact the 
first two conditions are contingent on the third. 

To understand the habits and requirements of plants; 
the properties of the soil which contribute to their well- 
being; the signs and warnings and prophecies of Nature; 
so that one may work close and follow her leads — realizing 
always that she is a fickle dame who may not hesitate to 
trump a safe trick or play low on third hand with the most 
careful and experienced partner! — to develop, in a word, a 
sixth sense which keeps one en rapport with the ^'feel" of 
the soil and the season; — this is to become a member of 
the informal but world-wide fraternity of "gardeners." 
The initiation is long, and to a degree strenuous, — and it 
must be self -administered. 

Let the gardener, then, read this book with a diligent 
eye for such advice and suggestions as he can apply to his 
own problems, but without any attempt to follow it blindly: 
for the real work, like the profit there may be (ten dimes 
saved is a dollar earned!), and the pleasure there is sure to 
be, must belong to the gardener, and cannot be put between 
the covers of a book. 

Cranmere Farm, 
April, 1917- 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



A.ROUND THE YEAR IN THE 

GARDEN 

January : First Week 

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW FOR SPRING AND 
SUMMER WORK 

With the beginning of the New Year thoughts turn to the 
coming season's work in the garden. No matter how large 
or how small your plot, no matter whether you raise veg- 
etables or flowers or fruit, the advantages to be gained by 
systematic management are manifold. The first thing to do 
is to get a definite idea of the amount of ground at your dis- 
posal. The second is to make up a budget; in all probability 
you can figure up pretty accurately how much you will 
want to spend during the year for seeds, fertilizers, new 
plants, shrubs, tools, and so forth. 

A small plan of your grounds, drawn to scale, will enable 
you to calculate quickly the amount of space that can be 
devoted to any particular purpose. Such a plan will also 
make it possible to arrange the work of beautifying your 
grounds and home for several years ahead. 

The actual work of making the plan is a simple matter. 
Half an hour's work with a tape measure will enable you 
to get all the dimensions you need. The plan drawn to 
scale from them may be as simple or as elaborate as you care 
to make it. A good method is to draw the permanent fea- 
tures, such as the boundary lines, drives, walks, buildings 
and large trees, in ink, and the things that you may possibly 
care to shift round, such as the vegetable garden, the flower 
beds, bulb borders and small shrubs, with hard pencil. 
Proposed additions and improvements, such as a hedge 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



along the front of the lawn, a pergola over the path leading 
to the garage, or a grape arbor in the rear, may be indicated 
by dotted Hnes. Such a plan will enable you to see at a 
glance whether any new idea may be advantageously 
worked into the general scheme of improvement, and you 
can calculate, without having to go out into the garden, 
how many plants or bulbs or how much seed it will take for 
any particular planting you wish to make. 

No person who takes a place with the idea of living per- 



250* 



3$tf 




Make a Plan for Future Planting. A, Large shrubs at entrance. B, Narrov^ beds along front 
walk. P, E, F, G, H, I, J, Decorative shrubs and trees. K, Pergola. L, Tool house. 
O, Hedge along street. C, M, N, O, P, Path, grape-arbor, strawberry bed, cane-fniits, 
and bulb-border for future planting. 

manently upon it should drift along from year to year with- 
out any definite plan of development. The place may be 
anything from a suburban plot to a 200-acre farm. There 
are latent possibiHties in both kinds of places, but no two 
owners will agree as to the best way of developing any par- 
ticular place. 

It is also essential to select the particular ideal toward 
which your efforts are to be directed. If your aim is to have 
a home as beautiful as possible, and enough vegetables to 
supply the family table, make yourself familiar with ex- 
amples of good taste in planning the home grounds and 
master the details of vegetable growing; if you think you 
are a natural-born poultryman lay your plans for an in- 
creasing number of colony houses; if you have tackled the 



JANUARY: FIRST WEEK $ 

problem of making a living on a real farm pick out your 
specialty and lay out your lines for experiment and expan- 
sion with that in view. But first fix the mental photograph 
of what you want to accomplish. Then you can follow a 
step-at-a-time policy as circumstances permit, which will 
not mean wasted effort. A step at a time in a straight line 
toward a definite goal will mean rapid progress; steps in no 
fixed direction may mean no progress at all. 

Look Over Tools and Seeds 

Even on the very small place quite a number of vegetable 
seeds accumulate as the result of left-overs from former gar- 
dens. The garden-line breaks, trowels and hoes are lost, 
glass in the hot-bed sash gets broken, tools are lent to neigh- 
bors who forget to return them, and there are a hundred 
and one other little things that, if attended to now, may save 
a great deal of annoyance and delay and possibly consider- 
able loss later on. It is an excellent plan to put everything 
in order now in the tool shed and the seed boxes, to make 
any needed repairs, and to- make at least mental notes of 
the various things on hand and those that will be needed 
by spring. 

Seeds left over from the previous year's garden may or 
may not be good. The first rule for the gardener is: When 
in doubt throw them away! Never for one moment let the 
price of a new lot of seed weigh against the possibility of 
even partial failure. Some seeds, however, keep for a num- 
ber of years, as follows: Beans, 3; beets, 6; broccoli, 5; 
cabbage, 5; carrot, 4; cauliflower, 5; celery, 8; cucumber, 10; 
eggplant, 3; endive, 10; gourds, 6; kohl-rabi, 5; leek, 3; 
lettuce, 5; sweet corn, 2; muskmelon, 5; onion, 2; oyster 
plant, 2; parsley, 3; parsnip, 2; pea, 2; pepper, 4; pumpkin, 
4; radish, 5; spinach, 5; squash, 6; tomato, 4; turnip, 5; 
watermelon, 6. 

Usually there is no way of telling how old the seed is when 
you get it, so the only safe method is to test for germination 
any that may have been left over. Take a small box, such 



4 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

as a cigar box, or a flat for a larger number, and plant fifty 
or a hundred seeds in each row. A more convenient way is 
to place the seed between pieces of moist blotting paper, or 
on a wad of cotton in a tumbler with a little water in the 
bottom. Planting in the soil, of course, corresponds more 
nearly to the conditions under which the seeds will be 
planted and gives a better idea of the percentage of germina- 
tion that may be expected. Of most kinds at least eighty 
per cent, and in a majority of cases ninety per cent, should 
sprout readily. Be sure that the soil is never allowed to 
dry out. 

In looking over your implements do not be content with 
merely being able to find things. They should be tuned up 
to work as well as new. First, get them sharp; on all tools 
with blades you should maintain a cutting edge. If your 
various tools of this character — hoes, wheel-hoe blades, 
weeders, sickels, scythes, and so forth — are in very bad 
shape, the services of grindstone or emery wheel will be re- 
quired; if they simply need "touching up" whetstone and 
file will answer the purpose. 

Paint is Cheaper Than New Implements 

Second, you must fight rust at every possible point, not 
only because it will wear your tools out much faster than 
hard use but because it interferes with your work. Take off 
all of the nuts on the various attachments, soak them in 
kerosene until they can be made clean, then put on a little 
heavy oil or vaseline and work them until they can readily 
be turned on and off and any desired changes made without 
trouble. 

After use for a season or two the larger tools, such as 
the wheel hoe, seed-drill and wheelbarrow, will usually 
show many spots where the paint has been knocked 
off or has peeled off, allowing a foothold for rust. Rub 
down the edges of the raw spots with sandpaper or a wire 
brush, wipe the rest of the machine off clean and dry, and 
give the whole a light coat of paint over such portions as 



JANUARY: FIRST WEEK 5 

were painted when the machine was new. Paint is much 
cheaper than new machinery, to say nothing of the added 
pleasure of having clean, bright-looking tools to use. 

The hand sprayer, whether of the knapsack or the com- 
pressed-air type, should also be overhauled unless it has 
been used occasionally since summer for other jobs. If it 
fails to work take out the plunger and soak the washer in oil 
for several hours ; or if the washer is worn or cracked beyond 
use get a piece of heavy leather and cut out a new one, being 
sure to make it an exact duplicate of the old. If the nozzle 
or any valve or spring has become corroded soak it for a day 
or so in kerosene and then clean thoroughly. 

By all means go over the cold-frame and hot-bed sashes 
and put them into shape unless they are comparatively new. 
Few other things will deteriorate so quickly if neglected, so 
that water can soak through to the wood. Kept in good 
condition, on the other hand, they will last for many years. 
In making repairs it is important to use only the best grades 
of paint and putty. In putting in new glass or in patching, 
scrape back to sound dry wood, and give a coat of paint be- 
fore putting the putty on. - The putty should be applied 
under the glass as well as over it. What is known as liquid 
putty may be bought for about sixty cents a quart from 
your seedsman; this is a semi-liquid paste that is very good 
for this work, as it hardens on the outside but remains 
plastic inside, adhering better to glass than to wood and 
making future repairs much easier. After repairing the 
sash should be given a coat of "outside white'' or of special 
greenhouse paint, applied extra thick over all joints and 
mortises. 

New sash should be ordered now if you are going to 
want any for this spring's work. Get those of the best 
quality, even if they cost fifty cents or a dollar more. They 
should be so constructed that there is the least possible ex- 
posure where the pieces are mortised together. 



January : Second Week 

AN EQUIPMENT OF TOOLS FOR THIS SUMMER'S 

SUCCESS 

There is a saying that it's a poor workman who finds 
fault with his tools. Nowadays it's a poor gardener, if 
his time is worth anything, who is content with any but 
the best of tools. That does not necessarily mean the most 
expensive ones. All garden tools are cheap enough, but a 
poor tool, no matter what its price, is expensive in two ways 
— it is less efficient, and it gives out quickly, to say nothing 
of the fact that a poorly tempered tool makes an ill-tempered 
gardener. 

A sufficient equipment of garden tools is a factor in 
garden success. The man who is growing for his own 
table will frequently get along year after year, skimping on 
a few dollars' worth of tools that he knows he needs. He 
argues with himself that he isn't getting any money out 
of his garden, so he must put no more into it than he ab- 
solutely has to. He fails to realize that in all probability 
he is getting two or three times as much profit out of his 
crops as the commercial market gardener gets. His whole 
output is taken, if his garden is rightly managed, by the 
best market so far discovered — the home kitchen. It is 
worth at least as much as would be paid for stale stuJff at 
the store. 

Another thing that keeps many people from buying 
needed small tools is that they do not calculate the actual 
cost. They decide that it will not pay to invest a dollar in 
a spading fork, or seven and a half dollars in a sprayer, or 
ten to fourteen dollars in a combination wheel hoe and 
seed drill. But if tools are well cared for they should last 
on an average at least ten years, which makes an annual 

6 



JANUARY: SECOND WEEK 7 

cost of ten per cent of the purchase price; ten per cent more 
will under ordinary conditions cover the charge for interest 
and the cost of repairs. The saving made by not getting a 
spading fork that costs twenty cents a year, a spraying 
machine that costs a dollar and a half a year, or a seed drill 
and wheel hoe that costs two dollars a year — a man's labor 
for one day — is often wholly imaginary. In the home 
garden it is often possible to lose several dollars by saving 
one. 

There are now special tools for doing most of the garden 
work, including the preparation of the ground, planting, 
cultivating, forcing and protecting plants from insects and 
disease, supporting vines and climbing plants, and harvest- 
ing. Some of these tools are of little practical use, but the 
great majority are of real advantage in getting better and 
quicker results in the special and particular work for which 
they are designed. 

Special Tools for Different Kinds of Work 

Of the various tools useful in handling and preparing the 
soil, one or two makes of hand garden plows are practicable 
for fairly light soil where there is no rubbish or manure to 
be turned under. The depth to which they will work is, 
however, quite limited, and for gardens too small for a 
horse and plow the trustworthy spade must be relied upon. 
The spade is put to frequent and severe use, so buy the best 
one you can find even if it costs a little more. A cheap 
one will not stand up under the work; the blade is likely 
to wear down quickly or to become bent, which is worse yet. 
A spade that has once been sprung is ever after a source of 
annoyance and delay. A poor spade is likely to give out 
where the blade joins the handle. A good spade should 
have steel straps, front and back, running well up the 
handle. Some persons prefer the spading fork to the regular 
spade. In many soils this will do just as good work, and 
do it more rapidly; it is lighter, goes into the ground more 
easily, and is better adapted to breaking up lumps of 



8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

earth and to gathering up rubbish or manure that may be in 
the way. 

Any garden that is large enough for the use of a horse can 
be plowed better and more quickly than it can be dug. A 
one-horse swivel plow that is especially good for use on the 
small place or in the large garden costs about ten dollars. 
Its advantages over the ordinary one-horse plow are that it 
leaves no dead furrows and tramped corners; hillsides can 
be plowed; closer work can be done and any furrow can be 
turned either way. When you buy a plow by all means get 
a colter with it; with it litter, manure or a cover crop can 
be turned completely under so the harrow or rake will not 
drag it up. 

The iron rake ranks with the spade as an implement of 
prime necessity; every gardener must use it frequently, 
but few do use it so constantly as they could to advantage, 
especially after crops are planted. The bow type of rake 
costs only a few cents more than the other kind and is less 
likely to bend or break. A small attachment like a hoe 
blade, arranged so it may be fastened to the back of the 
rake, is very useful in cutting out weed stumps or clumps of 
sod or grass that would probably break the end of the rake. 

Some Hoes You Shotdd Have 

To the uninitiated a hoe is a hoe. But there are now 
numerous types, to say nothing about makes, on the market. 
At least three different kinds will be needed in the average- 
sized garden. The first is a sort of hybrid between a rake 
and a hoe — the flat-tined hoe. This is useful in leveling off 
and making fine ground that is too rough for the iron rake; 
in clearing and raking off litter or rubbish; in working the 
soil between rows too narrow for the use of a plain hoe; 
in working over manure; in gathering up stones; in digging 
potatoes, and in other ways. 

The second kind is the ordinary garden hoe — but you 
should pick out one with a thin, sharp blade, a solid shank, 
not a ferule, and a '' hang " that is just right, so that it makes 



JANUARY: SECOND WEEK 9 

you want to get out into the garden and use it as soon as 
you get your hands on it. There is always more or less 
heavy work to be done during the season which makes 
such a hoe necessary. But for three jobs out of four in 
the garden, except in a very heavy soil, the small, light 
onion hoe is to be preferred. When you use one of these 
for the first time it seems like playing at gardening instead 
of working — but you will notice that the work gets done 
with a great deal less elbow grease. 

Then there is the warren or heart-shaped hoe, which is 
especially good for opening and covering furrows, digging 
holes for plants, and so forth. The scuffle hoe or push hoe 
is different from all the preceding. When a wheel hoe 
is used there is Httle use for the scuffle until late in the sea- 
son, when the crops are so large that the wheel hoe cannot 
be used to advantage. While not absolutely essential, the 
scuffle hoe is extremely useful in preserving a dust mulch 
and in keeping small weeds from getting a too vigorous start 
late in the season. The price is moderate, sixty cents to a 
dollar. In buying pick out one that is narrow enough to 
go through your narrowest rows. 

Even the smallest of gardens should have a wheel hoe in 
its tool outfit. The simplest type with several different 
attachments costs only a few dollars. As it is a machine 
that you will probably use in the garden more than all your 
other tools put together, be sure to get one capable of doing 
all the work you may have to give it. The double- wheel 
hoe has a distinct advantage over the single-wheel in that 
the rows can be straddled, permitting very close work 
while the plants are small and accordingly cutting down 
the laborious task of hand weeding. If your garden is at 
all large the amount of time you will save in weeding it the 
first time with a double-wheel hoe instead of with a single- 
wheel hoe will make you satisfied with the slight additional 
investment. In addition to the attachments that come with 
the double-wheel outfit, you should get either the disk at- 
tachment or a pair of hoes with extra high sides, which will 
keep any earth from being thrown over the smallest plants. 



lo AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

By all means get a wheel hoe with a seed-drill combina- 
tion. Life is too short, garden space is too valuable, the 
work of thinning plants and cultivating uneven rows is too 
costly, to justify anyone's planting a garden by hand. When 
you can mark the row, open the furrow, drop the seed, cover 
it, roll it, and get it straight, in one operation, as fast as 
you can walk, the laborious task of hand-sowing seeds 
like onions, carrots, beets or turnips is out of the question. 
In addition to doing the job better and infinitely faster, 
covering all the seeds with fresh earth and dropping them 
at a uniform depth, the seed drill leaves the row neatly 
rolled on top, so that you can see where to cultivate before 
the plants are up. 

No tool has yet been invented that does away with the 
•worst gardening job of all — hand weeding. For the careless 
or inexperienced gardener this task is Hkely to seem unend- 
ing and nearly hopeless. Having tools with which you can 
work close to the row, and using them before the weeds 
start, will enable you to get through it with the fewest 
possible hours of backache and sore knees. Hand weeding 
used to mean sore fingers, too, but now there are a number 
of hand weeders of different t3T>es that lessen the disagree- 
able features of the task. 

No gardener can be sure of harvesting his crop, no matter 
how rich his soil nor how good his seed, unless he is pre- 
pared to fight effectually the various insects and blights. 
Some sort of spraying machine is a real necessity. For the 
very small garden a good bucket pump will answer the 
purpose. But pumping from a bucket is not a convenient, 
effective or safe way of applying poisons or insecticides. On 
every small place a sprayer, either of the knapsack or of 
the compressed-air type, will be needed sooner or later, 
and a great deal of annoyance and loss may be averted by 
getting it sooner. A first-class machine will cost from five 
to ten dollars. Whatever type of sprayer you get, be 
sure to get a brass one; many of the compounds that 
will be used in it will quickly eat through even galvanized 
iron. 



JANUARY: SECOND WEEK 



II 




n 



Protectors for Early Plants 

There are a number of good machines for applying powder 
or dust preparations in a dry state. These are less expensive, 
but when there is a Umited amount of work of this kind it 
is much better to get a good 
spraying machine, as practically 
every remedy that is made in 
powder form can be dupHcated 
in a spray. 

A number of plant protectors 
of various types are used to 
keep off frost and insects dur- 
ing the early stages of growth. 
All these are useful, but many 
of them are somewhat prohibi- 
tive in cost. With a little in- 
genuity and a few tools substi- 
tutes for some of them may 
readily be constructed at home. 
Garden frames, for instance, may 
be made of cracker or soap 
boxes. Deep boxes should be 
cut in two parts; shallow ones 
may be used as they are. Simply 
remove top and bottom, and 
cover the top with protecting 
cloth; or drive in ^'finishing'' 
nails, which will not split the 
wood, and bend them over so they will hold in place on the 
top side a pane of glass cut slightly smaller than the outside 
dimensions of the box. These frames will prove extremely 
useful in forwarding hills of early cucumbers and melons, 
lima beans, and a few extra early tomatoes, peppers or 
eggplants. 

Supports for tomatoes and pole beans may be constructed 
quickly from 2 -by- 2 -inch or i3/2-by-3-inch scantling and 
laths, the former being cut into posts five to eight feet 



C 



V 



12 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

long, as may be required, and the latter nailed across at 
intervals of twelve or eighteen inches. These not only 
give a much better bearing surface for the vines than do 
poles, but they will last much longer and will always look 
better. 

One thing that offers an opportunity for money saving 
is frequently overlooked — the tool chest. For some per- 
sons tools are an excellent investment; for others they are 
absolute waste of money. Without good care tools soon 
become practically useless. Any handy person can, with a 
very few tools, not only do the ordinary repair jobs about 
the place, but find numerous construction jobs that will 
save time and steps, and add to the appearance of things. 
In buying tools aim at quality rather than variety. An 
elaborate outfit is not necessary. By buying one good tool 
at a time, and then taking good care of it, one can soon 
acquire a good outfit without greatly feehng the expense. 



January : Third Week 

UP-TO-DATE TOOLS— SUGGESTIONS ABOUT 
THEIR SELECTION, USE, AND CARE 

The returns from garden operations are not determined 
by the size of the garden, but rather by the amount of work 
done in it. Even a very small garden, managed so as to 
produce the maximum of which it is capable, will show 
astonishing results. High-pressure gardening of this kind, 
however, necessitates more time — and time is just the 
thing on which the average home gardener is short. Usually 
he is limited to a definite period each day, and as there is no 
known method of stretching time, the only solution to the 
problem is to use tools which will increase the amount of 
work which can be done in a given time. The money you 
spend for a good tool is really only the buying of extra time 
for work in your garden. 

Even in a small garden a combination seed drill and 
wheel hoe will pay for itself handsomely. A combined seed 
drill and single-wheel hoe, with plow, hoes, cultivator teeth, 
rakes, guards, and marker, can be bought for ten or eleven 
dollars. That may seem at first glance Hke a lot to spend 
on a single tool for a small garden; but such a machine will 
last ten years or longer; the first seed drill I ever owned had 
been in use ten years when I got it, and after using it three 
years myself I sold it for three dollars, and the last I knew 
it was still doing good work. Although this is "one imple- 
ment" here are the things it will do: open a furrow; drop 
seed of any kind, at any depth desired, in a continuous row 
or in hills; cover the seed with fresh soil; roll the soil, leaving 
a neat, narrow, plainly marked row; and mark out the 
next row — all in going once over the ground and as fast as 
you would usually walk. Think of the amount of time 

13 



14 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

wasted in doing this same work by half a dozen laborious 
hand operations, and then not nearly as well! By changing 
the tool to a wheel hoe, it will hoe the ground between the 
rows, working close up to them and killing all small weeds; 
or cultivate it, breaking up the crust if one has formed, and 
leaving the soil loose and fine; or rake it, creating a dust- 
mulch on the surface to conserve soil moisture; or plow 
shallow furrows, in which to put fertilizer or manure, or 
large seeds; and hill such things as are benefited by having 
the soil thrown up toward them during their growth. All of 
these things done more quickly, and in most cases better, 
than they could be done by hand. 

The double-wheel hoes cost two or three dollars more than 
the single-wheel type, and have several advantages, par- 
ticularly in working crops during the earlier stages of 
growth; and personally I would always spend the small 
amount additional required to get this type. The double- 
wheel machine can be used as a single wheel when desired. 
I never yet met a gardener, large or small, who regretted the 
money he had spent on a good double-wheel hoe. 

In selecting implements of this kind, there are a number 
of things to be borne in mind. I have used at various times 
five different types of seed drills, and some eight or ten of 
wheel hoes, and I have never yet found any one of either 
which was best in every respect. The kind of work to be 
done and the condition of the soil, make a difference; and the 
personal factor must also be taken into consideration, as I 
have often found that two men working side by side will 
prefer different types of tools for doing the same work. Of 
the things to think of in buying any tool, however, first in 
importance is the material and the way in which the parts 
are finished up. A machine that is poorly made and roughly 
finished will not only wear out sooner, but will not do 
equally satisfactory work while it does last. Another re- 
quirement is that the changes may be made quickly and 
easily. One of the great advantages of an implement of this 
kind is its great adaptabihty, and a machine that will rust or 
get stuck, and be such a nuisance to change that you are 



JANUARY: THIRD WEEK 15 

apt to leave it in one form from the beginning to the end of 
the season, will be a poor investment. There will be work 
for each different attachment, and it is highly important 
that all changes can be made with ease and dispatch. 

The machine should be easy to work. The type you will 
find preferable will depend to a large extent upon the 
character of your soil. Some people prefer the high-wheel 
type, and others the low. In light, soft soil, where the 
wheels are likely to sink in, the higher wheels work easier. 
On the other hand, in rough or stony soil, it is more difficult 
to work very close to small plants without cutting into the 
row. Having both types of machines on hand, I use either 
one or the other according to the work to be done; but if I 
had to select a single machine, which is ample for a small 
garden, my choice would largely depend on the character 
of the soil. A third type has a frame that fits against the 
body to make one's weight available in pushing it, but 
except for plowing, or use in very heavy clay soil, this is of 
negative advantage, as it adds to the weight and interferes 
with the backward and forward stroke of the machine 
which is used in most kinds of work. 

Efficient Use of the Wheel hoe 

While in the use of the wheel hoe, as in other arts, practice 
only can make perfect, there are a few suggestions which 
can be given which will help the beginner to become profi- 
cient. First of all, find a place to keep the machine and all 
its attachments where it is perfectly dry, and safe from 
promiscuous borrowers. Keep the axles and working parts 
of the seed drill well supplied with oil, and occasionally put 
a few drops of kerosene on the bolt and nut threads to keep 
them bright and working easily. Take pains to select the 
attachments best suited to the particular job you are going 
to do. Take time, after you have the right attachment, to 
get it adjusted just right: this is of the greatest importance 
and many people are not careful in this respect. 

Unless the ground is so wet that it should not be worked, 



l6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

or you have allowed the weeds to grow so big that they 
clog things up, you may be pretty sure that it is your fault, 
and not the machine's, if it does not do satisfactory work. 
In learning to use the machine, train yourself as soon as 
possible to keep your eye on the wheels rather than on the 
hoes or cultivator teeth that follow them. At first you will 
find yourself inclined to do just the opposite, with the result 
that while you are watching the blades, the wheels will veer 
off to the right or the left, and you will cut into the row. 
If you hold the wheels steady, the rest of the machine has 
got to follow. Do not push the machine along steadily, but 
work it in long, steady strokes, drawing it back a few inches 
each time. 

A number of the attachments mentioned in the following 
paragraphs are to be had as *' extras," or in some cases, in 
place of the regular equipment. For anyone who already 
has a wheel hoe, their cost is so little that they may be 
readily afforded. Perhaps the most important of all of these 
are the hoes with extra high *' standards" or guards. I 
emphatically recommend the purchase of a pair of these in 
addition to the regular equipment. 

Plowing. Generally, except in cases where the ground is 
already in good condition from previous planting, more 
satisfactory work can be done with the spade or spading 
fork, than with any hand plow I have ever tried or seen. 
The same is true of hand raking of the seed bed, to level and 
prepare it for the drill. The hand wheel plow, however, is 
often useful in loosening up ground that has already been 
plowed or spaded, and has lain for some time before you are 
ready to plant it, or in plowing small furrows for putting in 
manure, or in which to plant peas or beans or corn with the 
drill. 

Seed-sowing. Have the ground made as smooth and 
fine as it is possible to make it with an iron rake, and always 
freshly prepared. If anything happens to prevent your 
planting as soon as the ground is ready, go over it again just 
before you do plant. Set the drill as carefully as you can 
for the seed you are going to plant, and then test it on a. 



JANUARY: THIRD WEEK 17 

board or a smooth floor to see how it will work. It will drop 
the seed usually a little thicker on such a surface than in the 
garden. Watch the seed carefully, at least at the end of each 
row, to see that it is running out all right. A small lump of 
dirt in the bottom of the seed spout or a bit of trash caught 
on the opening plow, may catch the seed and carry it along 
for some distance and then drop it in a bunch, even when it 
is falling from the hopper all right. Keep the rear roller 
wheel clean. If the soil is a little moist, and tends to stick 
to it, an occasional tap with the wrench — which should al- 
ways be carried along in one's pocket — will dislodge it. 
Mark the first row out just as straight as you can get it 
with your garden line or a piece of string, and don't be too 
lazy to make a new straight line as often as the rows may 
begin to get a Httle crooked. This is important not only for 
looks: every crooked row means additional work every 
time you work it throughout the whole summer. 

Cultivation. Cultivation should be begun before the 
plants get above ground. Where the planting has been 
done with a wheel hoe this is possible because the rows are 
distinctly marked. There are two ways of getting the 
best of any weeds that may start ahead of the seeds you 
have planted. First is to go over the whole surface of the 
garden, very lightly, with the weeder attachment, or the 
rakes. The best time for this is just after the seed has 
sprouted in the ground, and before the sprouts have got up 
too near the surface. Millions of little weeds will have 
germinated and be above the soil, but so small you can 
hardly see them until they begin to collect, like tiny pink 
and white threads, on the tips of the weeder fingers; then 
you will realize how many hours of work later in the season 
you are saving yourself. The other way is to use the disk 
attachment with a double- wheel hoe. With the disks care- 
fully adjusted, and with the outside ones of each gang of 
three removed if the rows are closer than fourteen inches 
apart, you can shave right up to the row without throwing 
any dirt over it, nicely *' discing" the ground between the 
rows, destroying the young weeds and breaking up the 



i8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

crust. When using the disks, push the machine along 
steadily, without any thrusting movement. The sKght 
ridges left will be leveled down by the next cultivation, 
working the soil over thoroughly. The first cultivation 
after the plants are up — and it should be given just as soon 
as they are up enough to mark the rows — should be given 
with the hoes with extra high standards or guards already 
mentioned. They permit very close and rapid work without 
throwing any soil on the plants, which is impossible with 
the regular hoes. 

Get at the First Weeding Early 

Immediately following this cultivation the first hand 
weeding should be done, even if there seem to be very few 
weeds visible; between the plants, as between the rows, they 
should be destroyed as soon as they sprout, and not allowed 
to grow until they are so big as to threaten the existence of 
the crop. After weeding the soil between the rows will be 
more or less packed down hard, and the next cultivation 
should be given with the cultivator teeth on the machine, 
to loosen the soil up again. There are three types of cul- 
tivator teeth which may be had: the regulation narrow ones; 
the "gang'' of three or more together, of which the best 
have the ones nearest the row work shallower and nar- 
rower than the ones in the centre; and the separate teeth 
with extra wide bottoms which have the advantage, where 
the weeds have begun to get a little ahead, of cutting them 
off as well as breaking up the soil. 

Every ten days or two weeks after this cultivation the 
garden should be run over between rows with the ordinary 
hoes attached to destroy any weeds which may be sprout- 
ing and maintain the dust-mulch. If the ground seems 
packed at all at any time substitute the cultivator teeth for 
the hoes. The soil should always be worked over as soon 
as it is dry enough after a rain. With crops such as beans, 
which are sometimes benefited by a slight hilling, the hoes 
or the disk attachments, set so that they throw the soil. 



JANUARY: THIRD WEEK 19 

toward the row instead of away from it, may be used for 
very rapid and uniform work. As a general thing, however, 
level cultivation is to be preferred to hilling as the loss of 
water from evaporation is not so great. Toward the end of 
the season, when crops which have been planted close have 
begun to fill up the rows, the vine Hfters should be put on, 
and the single wheel used, with the hoes set close together, or 
the ''sweep" or scuffle hoe attachment used in their place. 

For ordinary work, going once in a row at each cultivation 
will be sufficient. If the weeds have begun to get a little 
ahead, and the first time over does not get them all, or 
where the rows are too wide for the hoes or cultivator teeth 
to work up close to the row on either side, go twice, or three 
times if necessary, until the work is thoroughly done. 
Weeds that are only partly destroyed will continue to make 
a rapid growth, particularly in moist weather, and if they 
once re-root after the main tap-root has been broken, you 
will have your hands full, as they form a mass of fine fibrous 
roots to which the earth clings, so that each cultivation 
simply moves them around a little without succeeding in 
putting them out of business. 

In addition to these two most important tools, which if 
properly used, will do most of the work of planting and 
cultivating, there are a number of smaller ones which are, 
nevertheless, essential. The outfit of tools in your garden 
tool shed should include the following: a spade; a shovel; 
a spading fork; a flat-tined hook; a lawn rake; an iron- 
toothed garden rake; a standard light hoe; a small weeding 
or ''onion" hoe; a Warren or heart-shaped hoe, for planting 
and furrowing; a reel and line; a scuffle hoe; a trowel and a 
dibber. For facihtating the work of hand weeding, there 
are several t3^es of small tools designed to save one's 
fingers; of these select one or two which suit your individual 
taste; personally for most work I prefer the style with a 
plain bent sharp blade; known as "Lang's weeder," which 
most seedsmen carry; for work in hard soil, about in- 
dividual plants, and in flower beds, some type of finger- 
weeder, with or without a long handle, will be useful. 



20 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

There are many types of most of these tools familiar to all 
gardeners. The points in regard to them to be emphasized 
here are three: first, see to it now that your equipment for 
the coming season is complete, repairs or additions should 
be made now, while you are bu3dng your seeds, not put off 
until planting time; second, whenever you buy a new tool, 
even if it is but a trowel, get the best quality that is to be 
found; third, make adequate provision for taking care of all 
your tools, — each one should be stamped or marked with 
your initial, and for each you should have a definite place 
in your tool house. A simple method is to have each tool 
numbered, with corresponding numbers painted on the 
wall or the shelf where they are kept, or a rough outline of 
the tool itself may be painted there. 

In addition to these garden tools, there should be of 
course a lawnmower; pruning shears; a pruning saw {not a 
double-edged one); an "edger" for walks and drives; a 
compressed-air sprayer, and a good powder-gun for dry 
insecticides; and last, though not least, a Hght strong wheel- 
barrow, preferably with good springs supporting the wheel. 



January : Fourth Week 

VEGETABLE SEEDS TO ORDER FOR THE 
SUMMER SEASON 

The most absorbing garden job of the year — if it is true 
that anticipation is more intense than realization — is one 
that will not take you out of your easy-chair. But more 
than Hkely it will upset your ease of mind. Probably by the 
time you had finished last season's work you thought you 
knew exactly what you were going to want in this year's 
garden. So you take up your pencil and paper and cat- 
alogues with a serene feehng that you know just what you 
are going to order in the way of vegetables, flowers, roses, 
bulbs and small fruits. But by the time you have looked 
through the second new catalogue, have read the testimo- 
nials about the sterling qualities of some of the things you 
had decided to discard and have been unable to find any 
mention of the fine new things recommended by your 
friends, you will be as much at sea as ever. 

As a matter of fact this whole problem of varieties is 
given an amount of time and worry entirely out of propor- 
tion to its real importance. A wonderful new bean or cu- 
cumber that you admired in a friend's garden was probably 
the same thing, under a different name, that you had in 
your own, only your friend had been able to give it condi- 
tions that were better adapted. The hours spent in puzzling 
over varieties could be employed to greater advantage in 
studying the problems of making the garden soil more 
productive; and the money spent for wonderful new vari- 
eties could better be used in buying up-to-date tools. 

Our catalogues are Httered with scores of fictitious vari- 
eties and strains. It is high time that our seedsmen in- 
augurated a movement to standardize varieties. Guard 



21 



22 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

against exaggerated and one-sided descriptions; the general 
tone of a catalogue is a fairly safe guide as to the quahty of 
the seeds and plants that are Hsted in it. 

There are three really important points in connection 
with seed and plant buying — vitality, purity and breeding. 
The vitality of a lot of seeds may be judged to some extent 
by their appearance; at any rate they may be easily tested. 
But purity and good breeding are more difficult matters. 
Many states have laws that now take care of the vitality of 
farm seeds, but practically the only guide of the customer 
in regard to good breeding is his confidence in his seedsman. 
Even one's own experience with a particular variety or 
strain is not always a satisfactory test, for conditions and 
seasons vary greatly. It is not enough that seeds should 
grow and be true to name; they should be true to the best 
type of that particular variety. 

Roguing and Selection 

Crops grown for seed should undergo the processes of 
roguing and selection. In roguing, the seed grower goes 
over the crop before it is mature and removes any plants 
that may be off type or of another variety. In selecting 
seeds he takes only the best specimens that can be found, 
with such special points of superiority as earhness, size, 
uniform shape, and so forth, well fixed. When you really 
get hold of a strain of seeds that gives you satisfaction 
it is a good plan to order enough to last for several 
plantings. 

There are, of course, some sterling novelties introduced 
from year to year, but as a general thing it is best to rely 
mainly upon strains with which you are famihar, trying out 
the newer ones under the same conditions before you decide 
they are better. 

For the benefit of those whose garden experience has not 
yet been sufficient to enable them to pick out satisfactory 
varieties of the various vegetables the following may be 
mentioned. Some are old standard sorts, and some are 



JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK 23 

newer introductions that have proved themselves so gen- 
erally satisfactory that most seed firms now carry them: 

Asparagus. Palmetto and Giant Argenteuil are both 
good. The first sort, however, came out considerably 
ahead in the most thorough test of asparagus varieties so 
far conducted. 

Beans. Before selecting the varieties of beans for your 
garden, be sure to have the several distinct types fixed 
clearly in mind. Of the earliest or string beans you will need 
only enough for one or two pickings — just enough to last 
until the wax beans, which are superior in quality, can be 
had. Stringless Green Pod and Bountiful are good vari- 
eties. Of the wax sorts Brittle Wax, Rust-Proof Golden 
Wax and New Kidney Wax are excellent. Of the pole beans 
Old Homestead (green) and Golden Cluster or Sunshine 
Wax (yellow) are good both as snap beans and when dry. 
Worcester Horticultural is a favorite pole variety in north- 
ern sections where the seasons are rather short for limas. 
Of the dwarf limas the Burpee-Improved is the most sat- 
isfactory all-round sort; the Improved Henderson is hardier 
and earlier but smaller, being in an entirely different class. 
Of the tall limas, Early Leviathan and Giant-Podded are 
among the best. 

Beets. Early Model is a fine extra-early sort for first 
planting. Crimson Globe and Columbia are good for use 
during the summer, being ready very soon after the earliest 
sorts, and retaining their quality even when they have 
attained large size. For a winter supply it is best to make a 
later planting of one of the earlier sorts, such as Detroit 
Dark Red, which does not get too large. 

Brussels Sprouts. This vegetable is one of the several 
relatives of the cabbage family, and one of the finest of all 
vegetables for the late fall garden. Sprouts will sometimes 
remain on the stalks outdoors without protection until after 
Christmas. Dalkeith and Danish Giant are both good, the 
latter being a Kttle larger. 

Broccoli. The only excuse for the existence of this poor 
cousin of the cauliflower is the fact that it is hardier than 



24 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

that delicious vegetable. A small early planting is worth 
while. White Cape is a good variety. 

Cabbages the Year Round 

Cabbage. There is no reason why a supply of this veg- 
etable should not be kept pretty nearly the year round, even 
with a comparatively small garden. As usually grown there 
is a big surplus at one or two periods in summer, and none 
the rest of the time. A dozen or two plants each of Jersey 
Wakefield, Copenhagen Market, Glory of Enkhuisen and 
Succession set out early in the spring, will furnish a supply 
of cabbage until September. Half a package each of Volga 
and Danish Ball Head, sown in the spring and transplanted 
some six weeks later, will give a supply during the fall and 
early winter; the other half of each packet, sown the last of 
May or the first of June and transplanted in July, will give 
a further supply during the late fall and winter. All of these 
varieties are good, but if you like real quality in cabbage 
use Savoy in place of Succession in the early and in place of 
Volga in the late planting. 

Carrots. For use in the frames or for extra-early use out- 
doors. Early Nantes is one of the forcing varieties that will 
give quickest results. Ordinarily, however, Chantenay or 
Coreless or a very good strain of Dan vers Half -Long will 
answer all the purposes of the home garden. If your soil is 
very shallow use Chantenay alone. 

Cauliflower. To have a succession throughout the 
summer plant as suggested for cabbage. Remember, how- 
ever, that the plants are not so hardy and cannot be set out 
so early. Snowball or Best Early, or any of the varieties of 
precisely the same type, or Dry- Weather, which is later and 
more robust in growth, will answer every purpose. Do not 
be deceived by the claims that are sometimes made for the 
Dry-Weather. It is a strong-growing sort, but no cauli- 
flower can be grown successfully without plenty of moisture. 
With proper cultivation it can be grown in dry weather, 
but not in a dry soil. 



JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK 25 

Celery. Golden Self -Blanching and White Plume for 
early planting, and Winter Queen or Boston Market for 
late, make up a combination that will supply celery from 
early fall until late spring. For earliest use start some seed 
in early February; for the winter crops sow the seed out- 
doors about the first of April. 

Corn. There are a large number of varieties of sweet 
corn but there is probably none quite so universally es- 
teemed as Golden Bantam; it is one of the earHest and 
sweetest, with a flavor all its own. It is particularly good 
for the small garden, not only for the first but also for the 
succeeding plantings on account of its dwarf habit of growth 
which permits much closer planting than the older types. 
Metropolitan and HowHng Mob are fine second early sorts; 
White Evergreen is still the standard late; Black Mexican 
and Country Gentleman have exceptionally good flavor. 

Cucumbers. Of the many strains, selections and im- 
provements of the old White Spine, Davis Perfect is on the 
whole the most satisfactory. It matures very little later 
than the extra-early sorts and keeps its quahty as well as its 
color for a remarkable length of time. For some extra- 
quality fruit try one of the English forcing varieties in a 
frame. Telegraph is one of the best. 

Eggplant. Black Beauty is the most satisfactory all- 
round sort so far developed. 

Endive. Giant Fringed and Broad-Leaved Batavian are 
both good, but quite distinct in flavor. The latter, known as 
Escarolle, is preferred by many. 

Kohl-Rabi. This vegetable, which is a sort of over- 
ground turnip, with cabbage flavoring, is very easy to grow, 
and if gathered for the table while it is still quite small — 
two or three inches in diameter — it is very good. There are 
few varieties, and these differ chiefly in color. 

Lettuce for Spring, Summer, and Fall 

Lettuce. To have a continuous supply of this best of 
salads be careful to select types suited to the seasons in 



26 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

which they are to be grown. Mignonette, Grand Rapids and 
Big Boston are three of the best sorts for use in the frames in 
spring and fall, and for the first planting in spring. Mi- 
gnonette is very small, with reddish-brown outside leaves, 
but it makes a very solid head deliciously tender and sweet. 
Grand Rapids is the best of the loose-heading sorts, having 
very tender, closely crumpled leaves which form a very 
solid loose head. Big Boston is one of the very best of the 
large-heading butter-head varieties, suited for growing in 
cool weather. For a supply during the hot summer months. 
Salamander, All Seasons, Brittle Ice and New York (Won- 
derful) are all good. The latter two, of the cabbage-head 
type, are quite distinct, having thick leaves with heavy in- 
curving midribs, and form unusually soHd heads. The 
Cos type of lettuce is also excellent, especially for summer 
use, but it demands very good growing conditions and more 
care. 

A Muskmelon That Runs Three Feet 

MuSKMELONS. There are a large number of good vari- 
eties but Netted Gem or Rocky Ford is the most popular 
green-fleshed sort, and Emerald Gem is wholly satisfactory 
for salmon-colored flesh. For cool climates Montreal Nut- 
meg, a large, green-fleshed sort, is unexcelled for quaHty. 
Spicy is a large, oval, orange-fleshed variety, quite distinct 
from most others, of very healthy growth and excellent fla- 
vor. Henderson's Bush is a new and distinct type of par- 
ticular advantage for the small garden. It can be planted 
much closer than the ordinary sorts, requiring only about 
half as much space for each hill. The fruits are rather small. 

Onions. The white sorts are the earliest to mature and 
the mildest in flavor, but they are harder to cure and not 
such good keepers as the yellow and red varieties. Silver 
King and Southport White Globe are good white sorts, the 
former considerably earlier. Southport Yellow Globe and 
Prizetaker, the latter larger but not so solid or long keeping, 
are two of the best yellows; while Southport Red Globe and 
Red Wethersfield, the latter earlier, are the standard reds. 



JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK 27 

Gigantic Gibraltar, an Americanized Spanish onion, is 
exceptionally large and mild, but is not certain to mature 
properly unless started in a frame and transplanted. Ailsa 
Craig is another very large sort, suitable for handling in the 
same way. 

Parsley. The several varieties are quite similar, varying 
somewhat in color and degree of *' crinkling." Emerald, or 
Double Moss Curled, is very good. 

Parsnip. Several new varieties have been introduced, 
but Improved Hollow Crown is hard to beat. For shallow 
soil Offenham Market has the advantage of being chunkier 
in growth. 

Peas. Before ordering be sure you are going to be able 
to get round to supplying brush or a trelHs by the time the 
peas are ready for it. Gradus or Prosperity and Thomas 
Laxton for early, and Alderman, Boston Unrivaled or Royal 
Salute for main crop, will give excellent satisfaction. Suc- 
cession plantings of one of each of these early and late sorts, 
made about three weeks apart until hot, dry weather and 
again in August, will keep the table well supplied. If you 
want dwarf sorts use Laxtonian or Blue Bantam for early, 
and British Wonder and Dwarf Champion or Juno to suc- 
ceed them. These are all wrinkled or sugar sorts. Of the 
hard round-seeded sorts, which can be planted earlier, but 
are ready for table only a few days sooner than Gradus or 
Laxtonian, the most satisfactory sort is Pilot; the pods are 
large and the quality is almost as good as the sugar varieties. 

Peppers. Neopolitan Early and Ruby King make a good 
combination for the home garden. Chinese Giant is larger 
and sweeter than Ruby King, but requires a longer season to 
mature. 

Radishes. There are dozens of good varieties, but the 
only way to have any of them fit to eat is to make frequent 
succession sowings. Crimson Giant and White Icicle are 
favorites for spring and fall. White Strasburg and Chartiers 
are standard summer sorts. Celestial is an enormous but 
a mild white winter sort. 

Spinach. Victoria for spring and Hardy Winter for faU 



28 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

sowing are good sorts. Swiss Chard, while really a beet, is 
used as a most satisfactory substitute for spinach. Lucullus 
is the best variety. From a single early spring planting 
greens may be cut until hard freezing weather; with protec- 
tion the plants are hardy except in very severe climates. 
The midribs of large leaves, stewed, are very delicious. 

Squashes. The old reliable War ted Hubbard, Delicious 
and Heart o' Gold are three varieties of good table and keep- 
ing qualities. For the small garden, however, DeHcata or 
Fordhook and Bush Fordhook, which are good for both 
summer and winter use, are the most desirable. The 
scalloped and crookneck summer sorts are earlier, but a very 
few hills, two or three of each, should suffice. 

Tomatoes. Bonny Best and Chalk's Early Jewel will be 
found especially satisfactory for the home garden, as they 
are not only early and of good quahty and color, but bear 
throughout the season fruits that in everything but size 
are as good as any of the late sorts. Matchless and Pon- 
derosa are splendid late sorts; the latter is larger, but is more 
subject to cracked and deformed fruits. Dwarf Giant and 
Dwarf Stone may be grown without supports, and bear first- 
quahty fruits. 

Turnips. The summer sorts go by very quickly and only 
small plantings should be made until early in July, when 
the crop for winter may be put in. Early White Milan and 
Petrowski for early, and Amber Globe and White Egg for 
late, are good sorts. Both of the former are smooth and 
mild, and the latter are good keepers. 

Watermelons. Fordhook Early, Halbert Honey and 
Sweetheart are all early enough to ripen in an ordinary 
season in the cooler sections. Halbert Honey is the sweetest 
flavored, and makes a good selection. For earliest results 
start a few hills in paper pots in a frame, and transplant 
outside as soon as the weather is warm enough. 



February : First Week 

MAKE A PLAN NOW— AND FOLLOW IT THIS 

SUMMER 

No single factor in garden management makes for greater 
saving of time and work than a carefully-thought-out, 
definite-to-the-foot garden plan. Such a one should be 
prepared long before outdoor operations begin. Perhaps it 
will take several hours' thoughtful and careful work to 
make it, especially if you have never made one before, but 
every hour spent now will save several hours in the garden 
later on. The plan should show your actual garden, drawn 
to scale, as you mean to make it; it should show just how 
much space you intend to use for each crop, where you in- 
tend to sow second crops, and, if you want to do really 
intensive gardening, where you will grow companion crops. 
It will help you not only with this year's gardening but 
with next year's as well; without it you will be only guessing 
at your crop rotations. 

First get the exact dimensions of the plot or plots of 
ground that you expect to devote to gardening; then draw 
an outline to scale. One-eighth of an inch to a foot for a 
medium-sized garden, or one-quarter of an inch to a foot for 
a small garden, will be found a convenient scale. When it is 
possible to choose the garden site a rectangular plot that 
can be plowed and harrowed the long way and planted the 
short way will be found best. If the garden is large and 
square it will generally be a good plan to divide it by a 
permanent path; rows fifty feet long are ample for the 
average garden. The aim should always be to keep the 
rows short enough, in proportion to the size of the garden, 
so the row will be a planting unit. Always figure your 
plantings in rows — not in seed quantities. 

29 



30 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



Next, on another piece of paper, write a list of the various 
vegetables that you plan to have, and decide how much 
space to give to each one. In the case of vegetables for 
succession planting put down the number of rows for each 

DATA FOR THE GARDEN PLAN 



VEGETABLE 



Beans, dwarf. . . 

Beans, pole 

Beets 

Brussels sprouts. 

Cabbage 

Carrots 

Cauliflower 

Celery 

Corn 

Cucumbers 

Eggplants 

Kohl-rabi 

Lettuce 

Leeks 

Melons 

Onions 

Parsnips 

Peas 

Peppers 

Potatoes 

Radishes 

Spinach 

Swiss chard .... 

Squashes 

Tomatoes 

Turnips 



NUMBER OF 
SOWINGS 



2-6 

I 

2-4 

1-2 

2-3 
2-3 
2-3 

1-2 

2-4 

I 

I 

2-4 

2-6 

I 
I 
I 

I 

2-4 

I 

1-2 

Every lo days 

1-3 

I 

1-2 

I 

2-4 



DISTANCE BE- 
TWEEN ROWS 



15-24 

3-4 
12-15 

2-3 

12-15 

2-3 

2-4 

3-4 

4-6 

2 

12-18 

12-18 

12-15 

4-7 
12-15 
15-18 

iK-4 
2 

2-3 
12 
12-18 
15-18 

4-8 

3-4 
12-18 



inches 

feet 

inches 

feet 

feet 

inches 

feet 

feet 

feet 

feet 

feet 

inches 

inches 

inches 

feet 

inches 

inches 

feet 

feet 

feet 

inches 

inches 

inches 

feet 

feet 

inches 



DAYS TO 
MATURITY 



45-75 

60-100 

60-80 

65-90 

60-90 

60-90 

50-80 

125-150 
60-80 
60-75 

50-75 
60-80 

40-75 
120-140 

90-1 20 
120-175 
150-175 

6c^8o 

40-60 

60-100 

2.5-50 

60-75 

50-60 

60-100 

40-60 

60-90 



MAKE LAST 
PLANTING 



Early August 

Mid-June 

Late June 

July 

July 

Early June 

July 

July 

Early July 

June 

June 

Late July 

Early August 

May 

June 

Early May 

April 

Early August 

June 

Late June 

Late August 

May 

May 

June 

Early July 

July 



planting, thus: Bush beans: 6 rows, first planting; + 2, 
second planting; -|- 4, third planting =12 rows. Cabbage: 
I row, early, + 2 rows, midseason + 4 rows, late for winter 
= 7 rows. Multiply the number of rows of each thing by 
the number of feet apart they are to be put, to get the total 
space to be devoted to each. For instance: Onions: 6 rows, 
I foot apart = 6 feet. Beans: 12 rows, 18 inches apart = 
18 feet. Tomatoes: 2 rows, 3^^ feet apart = 7 feet. The 
correct number of feet apart at which the various things are 
usually planted may be found in the accompanying table. 



FEBRUARY: FIRST Vv^EEK 



Fit the Crops to the Garden 



31 



Your list of vegetables and spaces should now be sep- 
arated into two parts — one of original crops, the other of 
those things that may be planted where something else has 
been grown before. Find the total space required for your 
first planting, and if this exceeds the size of your plot cut 



1 


' - - • 


- 


— — 


— so 


■ 


- - - 





1 


c 


Early ^ABBACiE 
"i-jx CaUI-.1FL0WE.R- 


«4 


Ro-w 


: t : 

- 15 _ 




CEJ-ERY 


2 Rows 


CABBAGE' 


1 


■. 


CAULIFLOWER 


1 


• 


BEETS <F' 


1 


- 




LETTUCE 


\ Rov^ 




LETTUCE. (•£•> 


1 


• 




CARB.OTS 


1 




RADISH 
LETTUCE 


i 
l>i. 


' % 




BEETS 


2 


s 




BEETS 


2. 


' i 




CADLrFLOWXB 


1 




CAKKOTS 


z 


' % 




CABBAGE 


1 




KOHLRABI 
TURNIP 


u 


;; 


TURNIP 


1 


> 






L.E,rK 


k, :■ 




SPINNACH 


1 


• 




ONION SETS 
ONION 


• 




* 




• 


3^z •• 


s 


PARSNIP 


• 




* 




• • 


3 


s 


FALSIFY 


• 




• 




• 


5 


s 


SWISS Chatcd 


. 




. . 




• 


1 




Dv.arf PEAS 


4 


• i 


V 

1 

»^ _ 




BRUSSLO-S SPROUTS 


t 






TUR-NIPS 


3 • 


s 




LETTUCt: 


1 




Early CORN 


3 


'• S 


TaU 


PEAS 


3 •• 


s 


Early POTATOES 


2 


" i 


juiyi« Corn 

m furrow 







down the items. If you find you cannot spare nine feet for 
your j6rst planting of beans without sacrificing something 
that you would rather have, put in fewer rows. 

So far the process has been merely mechanical, but next 
comes the test of your skill as a gardener. Your problem is 
to fit your crops into your garden, observing as far as possi- 



32 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



ble the following rules: First, to keep together in one place 
all the long-season crops, and together in another place the 
quick-growing crops that can be followed by others. Sec- 
ond, to keep together crops that are similar in cultural 
requirements, such as carrots, beets and turnips, or toma- 



r-T E L O N s 



POLE BEANS 



PQl^P L1MA3 



CORN 

4- ROWS 



DWARF BEANS 



LIMA BEANS 



2. Rows ^ I 



X Row 






CELTJRY 

OR 

PE.AS 



— ' DWARF PEAS — ^ ' ■ — ' 

b H1LL.3 WATER llE"LON ^4- HILLS. 



CUCUMBERS 

BEFOTlt: CUCUMC)E"R O MELONS 



O O 4lk <9 Q^ 



TO MA.TOES 
^> 4^ tb 4i> 

IG PLANTS 



<t> 



<S> 



cts> 



(t> 



s:3 



PEPPERS ('O) 



EGG PU.A.NT (10> 



D\VA.RF PEAS 



SUMMER SQUASH 6 HILLS -WINTER SQUASH 4- HILLS 



-» — - BEFOHE PLANTING SQUASH 



o 



toes and pole beans. Third, to keep together crops that will 
mature at the same time. Fourth, to keep crops from occu- 
pying the same ground that crops of the same family or of 
similar habits of growth occupied the previous year. In 
small gardens, where there are only a few rows of each thing, 
this is not so important. Fifth, to give the various vegeta- 
bles favorable conditions as far as is possible. If the soil at 



FEBRUARY: FIRST WEEK 33 

one end of the garden is rather light put the beans there; if 
the soil at the other end is lower and heavier put the celery 
there. If part of the garden is to be newly broken use that 
for corn or potatoes, and keep such things as onions and 
carrots, which require a particularly fine seed bed, on the old 
ground. 

When your plan of first plantings is completed, take the 
late and succession crops and arrange them in the same way. 
Careful attention must be paid to the time when the first 
crops will be removed. The usual time required for crops to 
mature is shown in the accompanying table. There is, of 
course, considerable difference in the lengths of time taken 
by early and by late varieties of the same vegetable, and in 
addition weather and other growing conditions have some 
influence. An extremely dry season may make it impossible 
for you to follow your planting plan exactly, as first crops 
will be late in maturing and second crops will be late in 
starting. Incidentally this is one of the things that makes 
an irrigation system of supreme advantage. With it there 
are no long-delayed crops, poor in both quantity and 
quality when they finally get rain enough to mature. 

Having gone so far as to map out your work in the garden 
it will be interesting to see how accurately you can follow 
the plan and how nearly you can make your actual garden 
come up to the ideal one you have put down on paper. 
You will have to get all the plantings made at the proper 
time. So you should make a check list showing the kinds 
and the amounts of the various things to be planted and the 
dates on which they should be put in. Another thing you 
might put down on your check list is the treatment of the 
various insect pests and diseases that are likely to attack 
your crops. 

Keep a Garden Diary 

In making out your garden plan this year you will prob- 
ably find yourself handicapped by the lack of accurate 
knowledge about your plantings of last year — how much of 



34 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



each thing you used, the dates of the last frost in the spring 
and the first kilHng frost in autumn, when the various insect 
pests appeared, when you made your last sowing for winter 
vegetables, how long after planting it took the different 
varieties of vegetables to mature, and a score of other things, 
all of which you have had to guess at with no degree of cer- 
tainty. Provide now against next spring. Get a cheap 



^ 



APRIL 5 



Aau/rnj 






/ ■' 
/fituJtl </L ^<^c^ -Co /uU/ 



APRIL 2-€ 
%ncl^^i^a4j( S3. J^^ff^ 

/o - ^CCAAit olcvccjCijBo^</n 
h bc^yf'^ htf^Ji^ Cunyuce. 






k/l/tfi»^ jofytx-*. 0<«-«y. 



ULI Jf 



Keep a record of your garden work for next year's reference. 



diary and leave it in the pocket of your work clothes or 
hang it up in the tool shed. In it jot down from time to time 
the things you particularly want to keep track of. 

Unless you had forethought enough to do it last fail, you 
must now provide yourself with a supply of soil in which to 
start your seedlings of vegetables and flowers. For the seed 
boxes the soil should be very light and porous, but not very 
rich. On the other hand, soil for transplanting should have 



FEBRUARY: FIRST WEEK 



35 



good body and should be made rich 
enough to enable the seedlings to make 
rapid and unchecked growth. Soils 
that are naturally in just the right con- 
dition for either purpose can seldom 
be found. But in most localities one 
may readily procure materials to 
make the right mixtures. The first 
of these is fairly rich garden soil — 
preferably a sandy loam that has 
been well enriched for several years 
but is free from weed seeds. You 
may have to take a pick and break 
up a few good-sized pieces of frozen 
soil, which will thaw out in a box. 
Also get a supply of old and thor- 
oughly rotted manure. If your hot- 
bed still contains the remains of last 
year's heating material, that will be 
just the thing. The third thing you 
want is humus, in the form of chip 
dirt or decayed sawdust or leaf mold. 
These materials should be allowed to 
thaw and dry out. They will then 
be available for immediate use when 
seed-starting time arrives. 





r 


/s- zS 




EARLY CABBiaCL 




SUMMER CABBAGE 




CACILIFLOWCK 




LtTTUCC 
















ONIONS '* 




E AR L V C A RQOT S 




BELTS 




lURMIPS 




PARSNIPS Z 




SAUSIPY 2 




DWARF PE.AS . 
(.DOUBLE. ROWS) ^ 


'^ 


5WEET CORN 4- 

CZ VARIETIE5-2PLANTIN&5) 




TOMATOCS 


":> 


POLE. BEANS 




POLC LIMA BEANS 




dwarf beans 4 
4yarietie:5-2 sowings 


<Z 


DWARF LIMAS 




PEPPERS & tG-&PLANT5 8 




MELONS 




5QUASM 
SUMMER BUSH 


SQUASH 
WINTER BUSH 


!c 


CUCUMBERS 


WATER MELONS 



Plan for a vegetable gar- 
den 15 X 75 feet. 



February : Second Week 

STARTING SEEDS IN GREENHOUSE OR HOT-BED 

Early this month the work of actually getting the garden 
started must begin. Up to now it has been mostly planning 
and seed buying. But a glance at the garden plan shows 
that by the time operations outdoors may be begun plants of 
various kinds, already well started, will be required. The 
success of the garden throughout the summer will depend 
to a large extent upon the size and quality of the plants, 
both vegetables and flowers, transferred to the open ground 
at the beginning of the season. 

The utility of the carefully made garden plan becomes 
apparent at this stage of the game. The gardener who has 
not felt like *^ wasting the time" to make such a plan goes 
ahead on a guesswork basis, planting enough of the things 
he thinks he will want to be sure to have abundance; while 
his neighbor, who has taken the trouble to figure things out 
accurately, knows just how many plants of each variety he 
will require and consequently does not waste seeds and time 
and room. Growing fewer plants, he can give them more 
room and consequently get them of better quaHty. The 
ordinary packet of most things to be started — tomatoes, 
cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce and so forth — contains more 
than enough seed to supply an average small garden, but 
if one has room in the frames any surplus of good plants can 
generally be disposed of to neighbors and friends at a reason- 
able profit, giving the grower the additional advantage of 
being able to select the best for his own use. 

The starting point of operations now, as later out-of-doors, 
is the seed. What is a seed? It is a particle of vegetable 
matter in which two things have taken place: First, the 
life force has been temporarily arrested and lies dormant, 

36 



FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 37 

ready to react to the proper stimuli from the outside and to 
become active again. Second, the usual processes of change 
and decay have also been arrested, and the vegetable matter 
forming the seed — which must feed and sustain the germ 
until it develops sufficiently to absorb nutrition from ex- 
terior sources — is preserved and kept in good condition. 

Certain conditions are necessary for the germination of 
seeds — heat, moisture and light, the latter not being 
necessary, however, until the seed has sprouted and shows 
above ground. The theory that seeds will sprout better 
in a dark place is probably based solely upon the fact that 
an even condition of the moisture in the soil is more likely 
to be maintained in such a place than in the sun. The gar- 
dener's problem is not only to give these several conditions 
but also to supply them in the proper degree for the par- 
ticular kind of seed he wants to grow. 

Getting a Good Stand: The Things Not to Do 

The seeds of most of the hardy vegetables are quite cold- 
blooded — that is, they will start in a temperature in which 
a more tropical thing will either lie dormant or rot. Rad- 
ishes, celery or parsley, for instance, will sprout vigorously 
where tomatoes or eggplants will probably fail to come up 
at all. Lima beans will rot to the last seed after a rain that 
will make other seeds sprout quickly. Still other seeds 
have such hard casings or shells that the seed sprouts, 
even when heat and moisture are supplied, cannot break 
through. From this cause cannas, moonflowers and sweet 
peas sometimes fail to germinate. If the hard outer shell is 
carefully cut through with a knife or file before planting, 
this difficulty can be overcome. 

As a usual thing seedsmen are careful to send out only 
seeds that show a fair percentage of germination. If the. 
seeds fail to come up or come up poorly the seedsman is 
blamed, and next year's order probably goes somewhere 
else. But here are some of the things that cause failure 
even when good seeds are used: 



38 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Drying Out of Seed Boxes. Seeds, especially small 
seeds, that are very near the surface, frequently fail from 
this cause. They may have enough moisture to germinate, 
but then the soil becomes so dry that the sprout which is 
beginning to push out from the seed is dried up. Neg- 
lect that would do no harm to seedlings an inch or 
two high will prove fatal to seeds that are just ger- 
minating. 

Covering Seeds Too Deep. They are seldom covered 
too deep to germinate, but often are buried so deep that only 
a very few are able to push through to the surface, and these 
are weakened by the struggle. 

Using the Wrong Kind of Soil. Ordinary garden soil, 
especially if it is at all heavy or clayey, is literally too heavy 
to cover the seeds with. Furthermore, it has a tendency to 
form more or less of a crust after being watered. For 
starting all small seeds the soil should be light, and so 
crumbly that it will not make a crust. Very slight resistance 
may prove fatal to the tiny seedlings before they get above 
ground. 

Too High or Too Low Temperature. Flower seeds, on 
the average, require a warmer temperature than vegetable 
seeds. Hardy and half-hardy sorts, such as sweet alyssum 
and snapdragons, should be given a temperature of about 
sixty degrees. The warmer things, like salvia, heliotrope 
and coleus, should be given ten to fifteen degrees more. 

Poor Drainage. This trouble, due to improper soil or 
tight-bottomed fiats, causing the soil to stay wet and soggy 
after watering, will cause many kinds of seeds to rot. 
Provision for the best of drainage should always be made, 
so that surplus water can always soak down below the level 
of the seeds. 

Careless Watering. Water applied too freely is likely 
to wash the dirt so that some of the seeds are uncovered or 
even washed aside into the corner of the box, and others 
are covered too deeply. Also the soil is likely to form a hard 
crust. Even after the little seedlings are up they can be 
severely injured by careless watering, as they are easily 



FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 39 

knocked over flat, weakening the plants and making the 
stems crooked. 

Pests of Various Sorts. Mice will take the greatest 
of pleasure in going over your seed boxes during the night 
and rooting out the little seeds. In the frames or green- 
house, slugs are likely to do damage. 

The Things to Do 

These are things not to do. As to the things to do, the 
first, of course, is to provide a place to start the seeds. A 
small greenhouse, a hot-bed, a sunny window in a room in 
the house, or a cold-frame may be used. The objection 
to the hot-bed is that you cannot work in it in bad weather 
and the temperature cannot be watched and regulated as 
well as in the greenhouse. In the house the atmosphere 
is likely to be entirely too dry for seeds. The cold-frame 
cannot be used early enough. 

The secret of success is in giving regular care. Watering 
and ventilation must be looked after every day, particularly 
as the spring sun grows stronger. During midday the 
temperature in the frames will run up to an injurious 
degree if the sashes are left on. 

Some gardeners make a practice of sowing the seed 
directly in the soil, but under most circumstances it is far 
more convenient to use flats. Seedlings grow^n directly in 
the soil are not so likely to dry out if they are neglected, 
but other advantages of the flats, in moving them about and 
changing them from one frame to another, more than offset 
this. Flats may be made quickly and easily from cracker or 
soap boxes. Those for starting seeds may be made about 
two inches deep; those for transplanting should be an inch 
deeper. In putting bottoms on the flats, leave small 
spaces between the boards, or bore several half -inch holes. 

The soil in which the seedlings are started should be 
spongy enough to absorb and to retain moisture for a long 
time; porous enough to let any surplus drain through it 
rapidly; friable enough so that it will never form a crust; 



40 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

light enough so that any seedlings can push up through 
it readily, and as free as possible from weed seeds. Such a 
soil is hard to find — but not difficult to make. Leaf mold 
or chip dirt rubbed through an ordinary ash sifter, or cocoa- 
nut fiber mixed with a clean, light, sifted soil, with the 
addition of sand, if it is necessary, to make the whole 
slightly gritty, will give the desired results. Fill the flats 
not quite to the top. Be careful to pack the soil firmly in 
the corners and along the edges. 

Careful Watering at All Stages 

' It is important to have the soil in just the right condition 
of moisture when the seeds are planted. To be sure of 
this, water thoroughly the day before planting, or set the 
flat in a pan of water so that it can soak up moisture from 
the bottom, or water the flat thoroughly when it is about 
two-thirds filled with soil, putting on the surface layer 
afterward — in which case it will become moist clear to the 
surface without getting muddy or sticky. 

Make tags for the various things you expect to plant. 
Then you will be in no danger of getting them mixed up. 
Mark off very shallow furrows about two or three inches 
apart. Most of the vegetable seeds go in about a quarter 
of an inch deep; most of the flower seeds, which are very 
small, should be barely covered. Very small seeds, like 
those of the begonia, nicotiana, mignonette or portulaca, 
should be merely pressed into the surface of the soil with a 
small piece of board and covered with a few pieces of 
shredded moss or leaf mold laid upon the surface to shade 
them until they are up. Sow the seeds as evenly as possible 
and not too thick, even if you have some left over in the 
packet. Then press them into the soil lightly with the 
forefinger or the edge of a thin board, and cover them lightly 
with soil, pressing it down firmly but not hard. If the soil 
has been prepared as suggested, watering immediately 
after planting will not be necessary. If watering is required, 
either right after planting or at any time before the seeds 




Plate i. — If you have only a small greenhouse with no "warm section" 
here is a way of rigging up a frame in which to start things requiring a 
higher temperature than the house afifords, — such as cucumbers, melons and 
tender flowers. {Lower) This shows the method of preparing a flat for the 
sowing of fine seeds; if they are very small, it is best to distribute them di- 
rect from the packet, by tapping it gently with the finger. A board and 
marker shown on the left are convenient in getting the soil in the flat smooth 
and level and in marking off the little furrows for the seed. 




12 3 4 

Plate 2. — There are a number of factors which help to determine how deep seeds should be 
covered. As a rule, very small seeds, such as lettuce or onion, are covered yi-yi inch (see 2 
above): medium sized seeds like beets or melons are covered yi-^A inch deep (see 1 above); and 
large seeds such as beans and peas are covered 1 to 2 inches deep (see 3 above). " Double " rows, — 
two single rows, six inches or so apart, are often used, especially for peas (see 4 above). 




Plate 2. — The art of starting plants early under glass for transplanting later is one of the most 
important things the gardener has to do. Getting a "good stand" of seedlings is only the first 
step. One of the things to be guarded against particularly is letting the little seedlings get too 
large before they are transplanted. The plants shown in the right hand corner are ready to trans- 
plant. The second true leaves are just developing. Those in the upper left hand corner have been 
allowed to go a few days too long and have become tangled and have grown up spindling. In the 
lower left hand corner is shown a flat of little plants just transplanted. The best vvay to water 
them after the operation is to put the whole flat in a tub or a pan like that shown in the lower 
right hand comer and then to add enough water to saturate the soil in the flat thoroughly from 
below. As soon as the soil begins to appear moist on the surface, lift the flat out. In this way 
the soil is soaked thoroughly without in the slightest degree injuring the little seedlings. 



FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 41 

are up, it is best to do it by placing the box for half an hour 
or so in a shallow pan of water. If this cannot be done use 
a very fine spray, or water through a piece of moist burlap. 

As already explained, it is most important to keep the 
surface of the soil from drying out until after the plants 
are well started. To do this, a pane of glass or a sheet of 
newspaper — preferably the glass — laid over the box, and 
tilted up a little at one edge to admit fresh air, will prove 
very helpful, as it will retain moisture that would other- 
wise pass off into the air. Germination will be quickened 
and strengthened if bottom heat can be given. For a 
single fiat or two the simple forcing device described on 
page 340 will prove very helpful. 

As soon as the Httle seedlings are up they must be given 
an abundance of Hght at all times, and they should have 
ventilation every day that it is not too cold. Air should be 
admitted so it will not blow directly upon the plants. The 
soil should be watched carefully and watered as soon as it 
begins to dry out, as indicated by its beginning to look 
light and powdery on the surface. Subwatering, if it can 
be used, is the best method to employ. A galvanized tin 
tray may be made at small cost by any tinsmith or plumber. 
This is made two to three inches larger in each direction 
than the flats, which are set in it in enough water to satu- ■ 
rate the soil thoroughly without making it wet. 

How to Transplant Seedlings 

When a seedHng begins to show its third true leaf it is 
large enough to transplant. The Httle plants should always 
be moved before they crowd one another. The flats for 
transplanting should be prepared in much the same way 
as those for the seed, except that a layer of heavier, richer 
soil should be used, and a layer of old rotted manure should 
be put in the bottom of each flat. If manure is not avail- 
able two or three quarts of bone flour or bone flour and 
tankage should be thoroughly mixed with each bushel of 
soil used, preferably a week or two in advance. 



42 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

If the soil in both seed flats and transplanting flats is 
watered thoroughly a day in advance, it will be in the right 
condition for good work. In taking the little seedlings from 
the seed flats lift them out in a clump and separate them 
gently with the fingers, taking care to disturb the fragile 
rootlets as Httle as possible. In the transplanting flat 
make a small hole with the forefinger or a small pointed 
stick, lower the Httle seedhng into it until the greater part 
of the stem is covered, and with the thumbs and forefingers 
press the earth firmly about it. After transplanting give 
a thorough watering and keep the plants shaded from the 
hot sun for a few days giving only an occasional sprinkling, 
if necessary, to freshen up the plants until growth is re- 
newed, as it should be at the end of a few days. 

Some six to eight weeks before it is safe to plant out- 
side — during the latter part of February in the latitudes of 
New York, Chicago and Kansas City — the hot-bed should 
be filled for action. Even if you have not a hot-bed frame 
already on the place it will not be necessary to forego its 
advantages this spring. One may be purchased knocked 
down and ready to go together with a few bolts and half an 
hour's work. If necessary the bed may be made on soHd, 
frozen ground. 

If you are going to make a new frame pick out the sunni- 
est and most sheltered place possible for it. A bed started 
early should be equipped with mats or shutters as well as 
glass sashes, so it may be given extra protection on very 
cold nights. Doubleglass sashes cost more, but do not 
require so much protection and have the great advantage of 
keeping out the cold without shutting off the fight. 

Whether you make the hot-bed on the ground or in a pit 
the vital point is the heating material. Sometimes frames 
built directly against the house, or near the greenhouse or 
garage, may be heated by hot-water or steam pipes from 
the near-by boiler, or even by warm air from the cellar. 
In the great majority of cases, however, manure must be 
refied upon. To produce satisfactory results this must be 
of the right kind and must be carefully handled. Procure 



FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 



43 



clean, fairly fresh horse manure, and unless it has already a 
good quantity of fine bedding mixed through it get rotted 
leaves to the bulk of half to two-thirds of the manure. 
Mix the two thoroughly to form a compost, and tramp it 
down as firmly as possible in a compact heap, preferably 
under a shed or cover of some sort. 

In a few days, when the mass begins to steam, it should be 
forked over and made into a new pile. Tramp down each 
layer and build it up compactly, as before, and if it seems to 
be dr3dng out add enough water to keep the whole moist, 
but not wet. Remake the pile, if possible, on a warm day. 

When the compost is ready put it in place to a depth of 
about fifteen to twenty-four inches. Half a cord will be 




sufiicient for a three-sash frame, unless it must be placed 
on the frozen ground. Then a little more than twice the 
first quantity will be needed. It should be spread out in a 
broad, low heap, nine to ten feet wide, eighteen to twenty- 
four inches deep, extending a foot and a half or so beyond 
the ends of the frame, and banked up round the frame. In 
making a bed of this sort it will be necessary to buy some 
soil at a florist's or market gardener's. The manure should 
be tramped down thoroughly and allowed to begin active 
fermentation again. After a few days the soil may be put 
on to a depth of four to six inches. Then, unless you are in 
too great a hurry, give a good watering and leave the sashes 
on a few days to let the soil warm up and to give some of the 
weed seeds a chance to sprout. The soil will then be in a 
good condition to mix with chip dirt or leaf mold for use in 
the seed flats. 

One of the secrets of growing early crops in the frames 
successfully is to have the soil rich in available nitrogen. 



44 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Old, thoroughly decayed manure mixed thoroughly with the 
soil will supply this and will also help to make the soil light 
and warm. One or two top-dressings with nitrate of soda 
after the plants begin active growth will also produce visible 
results. Plenty of water is another essential. 



February : Third Week 
PLANS FOR THIS YEAR'S FLOWER GARDEN 

If it pays to plan the vegetable garden carefully because 
of the greater efficiency that results, the careful planning 
of the flower garden is of no less importance. The effective- 
ness of your flower garden will depend more upon how you 
arrange it than upon what goes into it. 

However, planning the flower garden is a process just the 
reverse of planning the vegetable garden. With the vege- 
tables your aim is to get as many as possible of them into the 
space at your disposal. With the flowers, on the contrary, 
you begin your plan by deciding definitely the result or the 
picture you wish to create, and then select your materials 
accordingly. Don't say to yourself: "I am going to have 
two dozen pink geraniums, three dozen pansies, a hundred 
asters and some of those beautiful new begonias from the 
florist's; then there will be the castor-bean plants, the pinks 
and the new hollyhocks and the other things we are starting 
in the hot-bed — where shall we put them?" Looking at it 
the other way round, say to yourself, for instance: "What 
would be a good thing to put there beyond the end of the 
veranda, where the wing of the house makes a tall, blank 
wall?" The answer may be hollyhocks or golden glow 
(rudbeckia), or delphinium or helianthus, or any of several 
other things. The point is that you want to be free to 
make your choice first, and select the plants afterward, 
rather than to get the plants and fit them in as best you 
can. 

Creating an Appearance of Space 

In planning your flower beds you should go a step farther. 
Remember that just as the flowers should be made a subor- 

45 



46 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



dinate part of the flower bed or border, so the beds, borders, 
lawns and the other features of the place should each be 
subordinate to the whole. Don't be afraid that this is too 
nearly a professional task for you to accomplish. You will 
achieve more satisfactory results by working in the right 
direction, even if you make many mistakes, than if you 
work in no direction at all. It is almost always desirable 
to create an appearance of roominess about a small place. 
One of the most important points to be remembered is to 
keep an open center, so far as possible, by keeping tall things 



c 



VE&E.TABUE GARDEN 



SHED 



rS 



HOUSE 



r4 



<G 



FLOWER 



GARDEN 



ci 



Ji 



■da 











^c-* 



I? o 




In planning your place, do not scatter shrubs and flower beds all over. 
Keep an open stretch of lawn. 



back along the boundary line, and also to avoid straight and 
definite terminations of paths, roadways and vistas, so that 
the suggestion of something beyond may be created at every 
point. 

The materials available from which you may construct 
your flower garden belong to three classes: Hardy per- 
ennial plants; potted bedding plants, which are usually 
obtained from the florist or may have been started from 
seed in your frames or small greenhouse; and plants from 



FEBRUARY: THIRD WEEK 47 

seed sown in the open, either transplanted or left where 
they were started. 

The potted plants, which are usually in bloom when you 
get them, give you the biggest immediate show for your 
money. But most of them are good for only a single season, 
so that in the end they are the most expensive to buy. 
Hardy perennials of many good sorts cost from fifteen to 
twenty-five cents apiece, and most of them will bloom the 
first year if planted early enough in spring; they will last 
for many years. Annuals and biennials, and perennials that 
are treated as annuals, started from seed, cost next to 
nothing, and are almost always satisfactory if care and 
judgment are used in selecting varieties adapted to the 
particular places in which you wish to put them, or com- 
binations in which you wish to use them. 

Flowers Available for Special Purpose 

The catalogues hst hundreds of kinds and varieties of 
flowers, but very few of the kinds that are not well known 
are as good as the popular favorites that everybody has 
grown or seen. Some of the flowers to be started are hardy 
and others are half hardy or tender, so it is best to have some 
place arranged in which the latter can be given a little 
higher temperature. 

When the plants are up and far enough along to be trans- 
planted — when the second or third true leaf begins to 
show — they should be shifted to other flats or to pots. 
Plants of which a comparatively large number will be re- 
quired, such as pansies, asters and sweet alyssum, may be 
grown in flats until it is time to set them out. 

If the seedlings are extra strong and well started, as the 
result of not having been crowded in the early stages of 
growth, they may be put at once into small pots. These 
things should be given a second shift and, if the pots become 
filled with roots, a third shift to larger pots before being set 
into the garden. This is especially true of salvia and other 
tender plants that cannot be set out until all danger of 



48 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



frost is past. Figure out as closely as you can the number 
of plants of each kind you are going to want, so that when 
you are transplanting there will not be a surplus of things 
for which you will have no use later. 

A GOOD LIST OF FLOWERS FOR THE GENERAL GARDEN 



FLOWER 



Ageratum 

Aster 

Balsam 

Calendula 

California Poppy 

Campanula 

Candytuft 

Cornflower 

Cosmos 

Dimorphotheca 

(African Daisy) 

Foxglove 

Hollyhock 

Lobelia 

Lupine 

Marguerite Carnation. . . . 
Marigold 

Mignonette 

Morning Glory 

Nasturtium 

Pansy 

Petunia 

Phlox Drummondii 

Poppy 

Ricinus (Castor-Oil Bean) 

Salpiglossis 

Salvia 

Stock 

Sweet Alyssum 

Sweet Pea 

Sweet WiUiam 

Verbena 

Zinnia 



DISTANCE 

BETWEEN 

PLANTS, 

INCHES 



HEIGHT, 
INCHES 



6-12 
12-24 
15-20 
12-18 

6-8 

8-12 

4-12 

8-12 

24 

6-10 
10 

12-18 

4-8 
4-8 
6-12 
6-18 



4-12 
S-12 
6-8 

8-12 

8-12 

4 

24-36 
6-12 
6-12 
6-12 
4-8 
4-8 
6-12 

12-18 
8-12 



12 

18-30 
12-18 
18-24 

12-15 

18-36 

6-18 
12-40 

2-8 ft. 
12-15 

12-36 
3-7 ft. 
6-18 

12-24 

12-18 

10-36 

12-18 

10-20 ft. 
1-5 ft. 
6 

12-24 

12-36 
6-10 

4-7 ft. 
12-24 
12-36 
12-24 

8-10 

2-6 ft. 
12-18 

6-10 
12-24 



COLOR 



Blue, white 
Various 
Various 
Orange, yellow 
Orange, yellow 
White, blue, pink 
White to crimson 
White, blue, lilac 
Pink, white, red 
Pure white, yellow 
Orange, salmon 
Pink, white 
Various 
Blue, white 
White, blue, pink 
Various 
Golden yellow 

to orange 
Golden to reddish 

yellow 
Various 
Various 
Various 

White to ma- 
genta, mixed 
Various 

White to scarlet 
Foliage 
Various 
Scarlet 
Various 
White, lilac 
Various 

White, pink, red 
Various 
Various 



IN BLOOM 



June to frost 
July to Sept. 
June-Sept. 
June to frost 
August 
June-August 
June-Sept. 
June-August 
Aug. to frost 
June to frost 

June 

August-Sept. 

June-Sept. 

May-June 

June-Sept. 

July-Sept. 



July-Sept. 
July to frost 
July to frost 
May-June, 
Aug.-Sept. 
July to frost 

July to frost 
August-Sept. 
July to frost 
July to frost 
July to frost 
June-Sept. 
May to frost 
June-Sept. 
July-August 
July to frost 
July to frost 



February : Fourth Week 

MAKING THE SOIL RICH: MANURES; 
FERTILIZERS; AND HUMUS 

A poor soil cannot support a good garden. The founda- 
tion of the gardener's success must be a rich soil. Ignorance 
or neglect in preparing the soil is more often the cause of 
failure in the home garden than any other one thing. To 
the beginner the work of getting ready to plant always 
seems an irksome but necessary evil. But the gardener 
who is tempted to skimp the preliminary part of his work 
should make himself familiar with some of the things that 
influence plant growth; then he will realize the importance 
of giving his best attention to this part of his work. 

Almost every gardener in these days knows that his soil 
must be well supplied with plant foods — nitrogen, phos- 
phoric acid and potash — if he is to get good crops. But a 
little knowledge of this kind, if not a dangerous thing, is a 
next to useless thing. The gardener who wants to make 
sure of good results must take the trouble to go deeper. 
Then he will find, not only that he must furnish plant 
foods to his crops but that they must be in certain forms 
called '* available" and in certain proportions to one an- 
other; that there must be sufficient soil moisture present 
or the richness of his soil will count for nothing; and that 
all these things will be affected directly or indirectly by 
the physical condition of his garden soil and the way in 
which he handles it. 

"Available" plant food is plant food existing in the soil 
in such forms that the plant roots are able to take it up 
or absorb it. Just as raw beefsteak or uncooked beans 
have to undergo certain changes before they are available 
as human food, so most of the forms of nitrogen, phosphoric 

49 



50 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

acid and potash existing in the soil, and many of those 
added to it in manures or fertihzers, have to undergo cer- 
tain changes, which take place in the soil, before plants 
can use them. Certain degrees of heat, of moisture and of 
air make these changes. 

All plants require for their sustenance a number of 
different elements in the soil. Of these the only ones that 
are likely to become deficient are the three already men- 
tioned — nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. The worst 
of it is that if any one of these begins to get used up the 
plant will stop growth instead of using more of the other 
things. The kind of plant food that has become exhausted 
is termed the ''limiting factor." 

A "complete fertilizer" is one that contains all three of 
the plant foods mentioned, though they may not be in the 
proportions required. As a matter of fact most of the com- 
plete ready-mixed fertilizers to be bought, and especially 
the cheaper grades, do not contain the plant foods in the 
best proportions for general garden use. A good general 
garden fertilizer contains four per cent of nitrogen, eight 
per cent of available phosphoric acid and ten per cent of 
potash. Potash is temporarily scarce at the present time, 
as no potash salts can be imported from Germany, and 
the percentage of potash in all fertihzers is being cut down. 

Both Water and Air Needed in the Soil 

After a soil has been well supplied with plant foods in 
available forms the plants cannot grow unless they can 
absorb the various elements in the form of solutions. That 
means that a certain amount of moisture must be present 
in the soil. Conditions are most favorable to growth when 
the soil is about half saturated. Air must be present as 
well as moisture. If the soil is wet the air is excluded. If 
it is dry the plants cannot get hold of the food lying about 
them. 

The practical problem remains of just how to make the 
garden properly rich. Manures vary so much that they 



FEBRUARY: FOURTH WEEK 51 

may be worth several dollars a load or not worth the haul- 
ing. Fertilizers may or may not be of benefit in any par- 
ticular case. What would be thorough preparation of the 
soil in one garden would be just the wrong thing in another. 

Following are the materials available for enriching the 
small garden, with a few statements as to comparative 
advantages and disadvantages of each. The gardener 
should remember, however, that the greater the variety 
he can use, as a general thing, the better. 

Whenever it can be obtained at a reasonable price, good, 
well-rotted stable manure makes the best foundation for 
the garden. The great value of manure as a fertiHzer lies 
in the fact that it not only adds plant food to the soil, but 
also contains vegetable matter or humus, which is neces- 
sary to keep the soil in good physical condition — loose and 
crumbly — so that it is capable of absorbing and holding 
the greatest possible amount of water without becoming 
sticky and lumpy and excluding air. It also increases 
the action of the various bacteria that help in the processes 
of changing unavailable to available plant food, and, in 
the case of such crops as beans and peas, of gathering 
nitrogen from the air. Good manure should be so well 
rotted that it is fine and crumbly, but not in lumps. It 
should be evenly moist all through, neither sopping wet nor 
so dry as to be fluffy. If you cannot obtain manure that 
is already thoroughly rotted place what you do get in a 
compact pile and tramp each layer down hard. In this way 
fermentation may be hastened and the manure rotted 
thoroughly in quite a short time. Manure that is ferment- 
ing or fermented should always be kept in a well-packed 
pile until you are ready to fork it into the ground. If it is 
spread out, or left loose, it loses a great deal of its value. 

An excellent plan is to place in a hole any manure that 
you do not need for immediate use. To this should be 
added, from time to time, any house or garden refuse that 
will rot — various vegetable trimmings, old sods, weeds that 
have not gone to seed, or anything of similar nature. This 
may be kept in much the same way as a smoldering fire. 



52 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

and the fermentation never allowed to stop. In using com- 
post from this heap enough should always be left, if possible, 
to keep it^' going." 

Manure is good for both light and heavy soils and for 
most crops. It is rich in nitrogen, but phosphoric acid and 
potash should be added from other sources. Get it well 
mixed under the soil of the garden, or it will interfere 
throughout the season with the various other operations 
of planting and cultivating. Where it is impossible to 
obtain manure, commercial humus may be used, in con- 
nection with fertilizers, to maintain the humus content in 
the soil. 

How to Buy Fertilizers 

Actual plant foods may be bought more cheaply in com- 
mercial fertilizers than in manure. But these have no prac- 
tical effect upon the physical condition of the soil and add 
no humus. They may be classified in three separate groups, 
which the gardener should learn to distinguish and to use 
according to his need: First, ready-mixed complete fer- 
tilizers; second, the raw materials or original sources of 
plant food, which are used largely for making the mixed 
goods; and third, indirect fertiUzers or soil improvers or 
amendments, such as lime and gypsum. All these things 
vary greatly both as to amount of plant food contained and 
as to availability of that plant food. Most gardeners buy 
the ready-mixed complete fertilizers, getting a bag, or 
several bags, as may be required by the size of the garden. 
This is the easiest way, but it is also the most expensive. 
Whether it will pay you to get your fertilizers in that form 
or to get the materials and mix up your own will depend 
upon how much time you may have and how much fer- 
tilizer you use. The saving, if you use the latter method, 
will amount to thirty to fifty cents a hundred-pound bag. 

If you buy the ready-mixed sort, however, remember the 
higher the price a ton, as a general rule, the less the cost of 
the actual plant food. You can see, if you stop to think a 
minute, that it is cheaper to buy two hundred pounds 



FEBRUARY: FOURTH WEEK 53 

of a 4-8-10 fertilizer at $2 a hundred than it is to buy four 
hundred pounds of a 2-4-5 brand at $1.60 a hundred. Not 
only would the former lot, costing $4, contain as much 
actual plant food as the latter, costing $6.40, but it would 
be much easier to move it round and put it on your garden, 
and better materials would have been used in making it. 

Saving in Home-Mixed Fertilizers 

Making your own fertilizer is not a difficult task. Ni- 
trate of soda, dried blood, tankage and cottonseed meal 
are all used as sources of nitrogen. Phosphoric acid may 
be had in high grade in acid phosphate. Potash may be 
had in muriate or sulphate of potash. All these things are 
standard commercial products, with uniform percentages 
of plant foods contained, and it is therefore not difficult to 
figure out any formula you may desire to use. A mixture 
of nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, high-grade tankage 
and high-grade acid phosphate, in the proportions of thirty, 
forty, fifty and seventy pounds respectively, makes a high- 
grade complete fertilizer with an analysis approximately of 
four per cent nitrogen, eight per cent available phosphoric 
acid, ten per cent potash. Twenty pounds of nitrate of 
soda, thirty pounds of Peruvian guano, forty pounds of 
muriate or sulphate potash and eighty pounds of acid phos- 
phate will give about the same formula. 

The operation of mixing the materials together is not a 
difiicult one. Weigh out, or estimate carefully, which will 
answer practical purposes, the several materials; break up 
any lumps with a mallet or the back of a shovel; spread the 
several layers on top of one another on a tight floor or in a 
large shallow box; mix thoroughly with a square shovel or a 
hoe; and sift through an ordinary coal-ash sifter or a small 
screen. If you have several hundred pounds of the mixture 
it may be stored conveniently in cracker boxes, which hold a 
hundred pounds each when not quite level full. Keep in a 
dry place. 

When buying your fertilizers buy enough bone flour and 



54 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

nitrate of soda, in addition to what you will want to use in 
preparing your garden, so that you can use them as a top 
dressing throughout the season. Fifty or seventy-five 
pounds of bone flour and twenty-five or fifty pounds of 
nitrate of soda will be enough for the small garden. They 
are equally useful for flowers, lawns and shrubs, and for 
small fruits and vegetables. 

Fertilizers should be applied broadcast after the ground 
has been plowed or spaded and then thoroughly harrowed 
or raked in. From loo to 250 pounds to a space of fifty 
by one hundred feet should add plenty of plant food to 
your garden. If manure is used, or the ground is in good 
condition, less may be used. 

Most soils, whether light or heavy, that have been under 
cultivation for some time need lime. If wild sorrel grows 
freely about your garden you need lime. Or you can get a 
little blue Utmus paper at the drug store, moisten it, and 
insert it in a slit in your garden soil; if it changes to pink 
or red use lime freely. This may be put on two or three 
times as thick as you would put fertilizers. 

The best form of lime to use, especially at this time of 
the year, is ground, raw limestone, which is not caustic in 
its action. This should, however, be so fine that much of it 
is like flour. It should not cost you more than fifty or sixty 
cents a hundred pounds. Put the lime on as early in spring 
as possible. 



March : First "Week 

BUSH AND TREE FRUITS FOR THE SMALL PLACE; 
QUANTITIES NEEDED; GOOD VARIETIES 

No garden is complete without fruit — not only the small 
fruits but, unless it is a very small garden indeed, some of 
the pome and stone fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, 
cherries and plums. Sometimes it is argued that the latter 
take too much room. As a matter of fact, blackberries and 
raspberries take more space in proportion to what one gets 
from them than need be given to dwarf or trained fruit 
trees. 

Most of the small fruits will survive any adverse condi- 
tions they are Hkely to encounter. In fact, many gardeners 
would obtain better results if the bushes were not so hardy. 
A currant bush set out by the garden fence, where it will 
survive for years even if it is' not cared for, is more likely to 
be neglected than the newly set strawberry patch, which 
must be tended for a season at least if one expects to get any 
crop from it. It is the same principle that prompts a gar- 
dener to coddle and nurse through the winter a tender tea 
rose, while an equally beautiful but perfectly hardy rose 
will be stuck up against the house wall and left without so 
much care as spring pruning. 

Aside from the fascination of growing it, there are prac- 
tical reasons why fruit should be given a place in every 
garden. Most fruits, being highly perishable products, 
cost the consumer a very high figure in proportion to the 
expense of growing them. Not only can he produce them 
for himself a great deal cheaper than he can buy them, but 
the fruit will be of very much better quality. Fruits dete- 
riorate after picking even more quickly than most vegeta- 
bles. There is very little danger of overproduction. Prac- 

55 



56 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

tically everything in the fruit line can be preserved to ad- 
vantage. 

Unlike the vegetable garden the fruit garden need not 
have a space of considerable size devoted exclusively to it. 
The trees may be put round the edges of the place, and a 
dozen or so cane fruits may be placed along a wall or 
in a corner. Most of the fruits on a very small place 
may be made to fit in with the general decorative scheme; 
many of them in bloom are fully as beautiful as flowering 
shrubs. 

A variety of material is available for the fruit garden. 
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, logan- 
berries, currants, gooseberries and grapes make up what are 
usually known as the small fruits. Apples, plums, peaches, 
cherries and pears may be had either in the regular standard 
types or, if space is limited, on dwarf stocks which, with 
proper care, give miniature-sized trees with full-sized fruit. 
Of most of these things you will want two or more varieties 
to assure a succession, but the number of each required, 
even for a fair-sized garden, will be very small. 

Plant the Fruits by Proxy 

The ideal way not to plan the fruit garden k the way it is 
frequently done. The gardener, having decided that he 
really must have some fruits in his garden, does nothing 
more about it until the nursery agent gets round and per- 
suades him that he needs a quarter of a dozen, half a dozen, 
or a couple of dozen of this, that and the other thing which 
will be shipped in plenty of time for planting. Some agents 
have first-class stock for sale. But there is a much better 
way of planning your fruit garden. 

Take a number of labels, short stakes, or pieces of shingle 
and figure out carefully what you want to have, so far as 
the room at your disposal will allow. The bed for straw- 
berries or cane fruits may be staked off. The bush fruits 
and fruit trees may be indicated by stakes, each with a 
name written on it. After you have thus planted your 



MARCH: FIRST WEEK 57 

garden by proxy, you can make up a thoroughly satisfactory 
garden order that will just fit your place. 

Here are the distances to allow for the different kinds of 
fruits: Strawberries, one foot by one foot or two feet, each 
way; in rows two feet apart; in beds of three or four rows, 
the plants a foot apart each way, with two-foot alleys be- 
tween if the hill system is to be used, or a foot apart in rows 
three feet apart if you expect to grow them in matted rows. 
Raspberries, three by six feet. Blackberries and dewberries, 
five by seven feet. Currants, four to five feet apart. Goose- 
berries, five to seven feet. Grapes, six to eight feet. 

A standard apple tree, when grown, will occupy a space 
some thirty to forty feet in diameter. But apples grafted 
on doucin stock may be set as close as sixteen to twenty feet, 
and on paradise stock, which is still smaller, as close as eight 
to ten feet. Plums, cherries, pears, quinces, and dwarf pears 
on quince stock may be put from ten to twenty feet apart, 
depending largely upon the varieties and the way they are 
pruned. 

Practically all the fruits will do well in any good garden 
soil, but they have some preferences. The cane fruits, for 
instance, are partial to rather clayey soil, and, if there is 
any choice, give the drier place to the strawberries, as they 
suffer less from insufficient moisture than do the raspberries 
and blackcaps. Currants and gooseberries must have plenty 
of moisture to do well. If they cannot be given a really 
moist soil they are frequently benefited by mulching before 
the advent of dry weather. Strawberries will do well even 
on light, sandy soil provided they do not suffer from drought. 

Most of the tree fruits prefer a calcareous soil, but one 
and all must have good drainage. This is important for the 
vegetable garden, but it is doubly important for any plants 
that stay in the ground over winter, as the fruits do. Good 
fruit and wet feet are not to be found together on the same 
bush, tree or vine. In planning a garden do not lose sight 
of the fact that though all these things are small when you 
set them out, some of them will require a great deal of room, 
not only horizontally but vertically as well, when they are 



58 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

fully grown. Place them so that they will not interfere, or 
will interfere as little as possible, with the care and cultiva- 
tion of your vegetable garden or flower garden, particularly 
in casting too great a shade where it is not desired. The 
smaller sorts may often be tucked in between the larger ones. 
Peaches, for instance, are often planted between apple trees, 
as they are comparatively short lived. 

Satisfactory Fruit Varieties 

Having decided how many of each of the various tilings 
you will require, the next step is to select the varieties. 
Very often the gardener who becomes enthusiastic about one 
particular good thing makes the mistake of getting all of that 
sort. Early and late sorts, to afford a succession, should be 
chosen. Some of the best varieties of the different things 
follow: 

Strawberries. Early Ozark, a fine new early; Michel's 
Early, a standard sort but not of the best quality; Early 
Jersey Giant; second early — Sample and Glen Mary; 
medium to late — Marshall, Brandywine, Nick Ohmer; 
late — Lovett, Fendall, and Chesapeake. 

Raspberries. The King, extra early; Cuthbert, Colum- 
bian, ReHance, all good sorts; Cardinal and St. Regis Ever- 
bearing, excellent newer varieties — the latter, after the reg- 
ular crop, fruits again at the end of the season. The red 
sorts are generally preferred, but at least one of the black- 
caps, of which Palmer, very early, Gregg, and Cumberland, 
are all good varieties, should be included. The standard 
yellow is Golden Queen. 

Blackberries. Mercereau is an extra-fine new early, and 
Early Harvest and Early King are both good-bearing sorts. 
Wilson, Jr., Snyder, Erie and Kittatinny are all good. 

Currants. Fay's Prolific and Perfection are two excel- 
lent red sorts. White Grape and Lee's Prolific, black, are 
very good varieties that are favored by many and are ex- 
cellent for cooking and preserves. 

Dewberries are quite similar to raspberries but are a 



MARCH: FIRST WEEK 



59 



little earlier in ripening. Premo is a new early sort, and 
Lucretia is the largest and sweetest. 

Gooseberries. These are of two distinct types, the na- 
tive and the English sorts. Of the former Downing and 
Houghton's Seedling are perhaps two of the best. Of the 
English sorts Industry is perhaps the best suited to our 
climate. Golden Prolific and the Pearl, pale green, are fine 
for eating raw. 

Grapes. These should be selected for color and season. 
Among the best of the black are Campbell's Early, Moore's 
Early, and Worden, which is extra large and fine. Concord, 
Wilder and Eaton are good medium-to-late black sorts. Of 
the red, Brighton is early, Catawba medium, Delaware and 
lona late. Of the white, Moore's Diamond and Green 
Mountain are good early sorts, and Niagara, Empire State, 
and Pocklington are medium to late. The latter is really a 
pale golden yellow instead of white; it is extra large and 
juicy and one of the most delicious of all grapes. 

An order of small fruits for an average-sized garden might 
contain the following: 



Strawberry. 
Raspberry . , 



Blackberry , 
Dewberry . 



Currant . . . . 
Gooseberry . 



Grape . 



VARIETY NUMBER 

Early Ozark loo 

Marshall, midseason loo 

Lovett, late loo 

The King, red, early 6 

Cardinal, red, late 6 

Cuthbert, crimson 6 

Munger, black 6 

Mercereau, early 6 

Erie, main 6 

Premo, early 6 

Lucretia 3 

Perfection, red 8 

Lee's Prolific, black 2 

White Grape 2 

Downing, pale green 

Red Jacket, red 

Industry, red 

Moore's Early, black 

Concord, black 

Green Mountain, early white 

Delaware, red 

Catawba, dusky red 

Pocklington, golden 



6o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

A few of the best standard varieties of the tree fruits are 
mentioned below, but if you intend to plant any number 
you will do well to get the advice of your state experiment 
station as to varieties best adapted to your particular 
locaHty. 

Apples. Summer: Early Harvest, Red Astrachan. Au- 
tumn: Gravenstein, Mcintosh Red, Porter. Late autumn: 
Snow, Hubbardston, Pound Sweet, Wealthy. Winter: 
Spitzenberg, Delicious, Winesap, Jonathan, Baldwin, Rox- 
bury Russet. 

Pears. Among the best of the pears are Wilder, Clapp 
Favorite, Bartlett, Seckel, Winter Nelis. 

Peaches. Greensboro and Mayflower are good extra 
early sorts, and Champion, Elberta, Ray and Late Crawford 
are standard medium-to-late varieties. 

Plums. Of the native sorts, Milton, Early, Wildgoose, 
Whitaker and Wayland, late, are good. Bradshaw, Reine 
Claude and Damson are good European sorts. Of the Jap- 
anese plums. Abundance, Burbank and Wickson are all very 
fine. The Japanese plums, though giving quicker and 
better results at first, are Hkely to be much shorter lived 
than the native of European sorts. 

Cherries. There are two classes, sweet and sour, the 
latter being somewhat hardier, especially in the North. Of 
the sweet, Black Eagle, Black Tartarian, Windsor, Governor 
Wood, and Yellow Spanish are among the best. Of the sour, 
Early Richmond, Montmorency and English Morello will 
give a succession of fruit. 

Buying Fruit Trees and Plants 

In buying fruits for the home garden, where quick returns 
are appreciated and only a comparatively small number of 
trees will be wanted, it will pay to get first-quality stock. 
And you should get it from the most reliable source you 
know of. 

Before the frost is all out of the ground in the shady spots, 
the impatient gardener whose frames are already getting 



MARCH: FIRST WEEK 



6i 



overcrowded with plants will be trying the soil with his 
spade or digging fork. How soon should the ground be 
worked? The answer cannot be given by the calendar. It 
depends entirely upon the season and the character of the 
soil to be used. 

Some soils can be dug safely and planted before the frost 
is all out; others must wait till long afterward. After thaw- 
ing, the ground must undergo a drying-out process to some 
extent before it should be handled. If one attempts to plow 
it before it is in the proper condition injury that will last for 



* 



'a^F> 




If your garden is small, make the end fence movable to facilitate 
plowing and harrowing. 

a number of years may be done. The safest rule is "when 
the soil is dry enough to crumble." 

Light, sandy soils, especially when located on a slope 
where heavy rains have a chance to drain off, may be planted 
to such hardy things as peas or sweet peas as soon as it is 
possible to get a few inches of the surface into condition. 
Heavy soils, or soils lying level with hard subsoils, should 
not be touched until they are dry enough to crumble away 
from the plow. 

When it is possible deep plowing is almost always more 
satisfactory than working the soil by hand. Often in a small 
garden the fence at the ends can be made removable so a 
horse can get about. Heavy galvanized wire may be used 
for this fence, with either square or round posts and square 
wooden boxes or drain tiles as post holes. 



March : Second Week 

GROWING STRONG PLANTS FOR VEGETABLE 
AND FLOWER GARDENS 

The success of the early vegetable garden and the ap- 
pearance of the flower garden throughout the season will 
depend very largely upon the quaUty of the plants you have 
ready to set out. Good plants do not make success certain, 
but they make it very easy. Poor plants are always a great 
handicap and usually result in failure. 

Most people judge a plant's value by its size. This is a 
point to be considered, but it is by no means the most 
important one. A plant in healthy growing condition will 
soon catch up to and pass a plant originally two or three 
times its size but in poor condition. " Good growing condi- 
tion" is a state rather difficult to describe in words, but it 
is one that anyone who handles many plants quickly comes 
to recognize. One of the indications is color, most plants 
being of a dark, healthy-looking green. Another is firm, 
compact, sturdy growth and general ''perky" appearance. 

If your plants look pale and washed out; if they have 
brown leaves or are spotted; if they grow tall and lanky; 
if they incline to droop and drop their leaves, it is a pretty 
sure sign that something is radically wrong and you should 
find the trouble. It may be bad air, or starvation, or too 
much or too Httle water, or too high or too low temperature, 
or insects or disease of one kind or another. Whatever it is, 
don't let it go in the hope of having the plant get over it and 
come out all right. Unless you remedy the adverse condi- 
tion inamediately your plant is pretty certain to come out 
all wrong. 

There is another condition, not so easily discerned, that 
makes plants less desirable for setting out— a general 

62 



MARCH: SECOND WEEK 63 

hardening of the stem and roots, which may result from 
checking the growth by giving too Uttle water, too low 
temperature or too Kttle room. This puts the plants in a 
semidormant condition from which it takes them some 
time to recover, even after they are placed in a more favor- 
able environment. The growing parts of the plant, both 
above and below ground, should be firm, but juicy and 
rather brittle. When they become tough and wiry the 
development of new plant tissue is checked. 

Factors That A feet Growth 

Various factors influencing the growth of plants — food, 
water, air, light, heat and protection from insects and dis- 
ease — are all, in the case of plants being started early in the 
greenhouse or hot-bed, pretty much under the grower's 
control. This is at the same time an advantage and a dis- 
advantage, for while he is independent of the vagaries of 
temperature and insufficient rainfall. Nature cannot help 
him if he forgets to attend to anything himself. Anyone 
who expects to grow plants of prime quality should make 
himself famihar with each of these things that affect growth: 

Food. For plants started early, when rapid but sturdy 
development is wanted, food should be given in highly 
available forms but in a balanced ration. Too much nitro- 
gen is likely to result in oversucculent or flabby growth. 
Soil for transplanting or potting up should be much richer 
than that for seedling plants. Nothing is better than the old 
stand-by, well-rotted manure, but it should be particularly 
well rotted and also finely pulverized. 

If fine enough and dry enough the manure may be mixed 
with the soil, but often it is more convenient to put a layer 
of manure in the bottom of the flat or pot and cover this 
with the soil in which the plant is to be set. If the manure 
to be used in the bottom of flats is left in a lumpy condition 
the plants may grow as well, but in taking them out the 
roots will be damaged much more than if the manure had 
been run through a sieve. When stable manure cannot be 



64 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

obtained commercial horse or cattle manure may be used. 
Remember, however, that these are dried and concentrated, 
and do not use too much. 

For most purposes, bone flour, if no manure is available, 
will give very satisfactory results. Peruvian guano, if the 
genuine article can be obtained, is one of the best materials, 
being not only rich in organic nitrogen but having also 
generous amounts of available phosphoric acid and potash. 
In using bone flour or dried blood or tankage it is desirable 
to mix wood ashes with the soil. In fact wood ashes may 
almost always be used to advantage in preparing soil for the 
growing of plants, as the potash they contain is valuable and 
the Hme and charcoal help to keep the soil sweet. 

In addition to being well enriched, the soil should contain 
plenty of humus and, if necessary, should have enough sand 
added to be friable. Soil enriched as suggested will usually 
carry the plants through until time to set them out, but if 
at any time they seem to be holding back without apparent 
reason a watering with liquid manure or with liquid nitrate 
of soda, either of which can be applied with a watering can, 
will result in a quick and marked improvement if the trouble 
was lack of available nitrogen. 

When to Water 

Water. Unfortunately circumstances are likely to 
tempt the gardener to give too much water at first, and too 
little later on when the actual needs of the plant are pre- 
cisely the opposite. When the gardener's early spring 
enthusiasm must be confined to the few pots and flats of 
plants in his greenhouse or hot-bed it is a very easy matter 
for him to be overzealous with the watering can, though 
the plants really need little moisture; later, when rapid 
growth, rapid evaporation and a high temperature cause 
them to require almost as much water as they can get, the 
gardener is busy outdoors with other things and is likely to 
forget the regular time for watering his seedlings. The 
result is that when he does happen to notice them they are 



MARCH: SECOND WEEK 65 

badly wilted and the soil has become dust dry or baked into 
a hard cake. 

Every effort should be made to keep the soil in either 
flats or pots in as even a state of moisture as possible. 
Extremes injure the plants' growth, and after the soil dries 
and parts from the edge of the box or pot it is exceedingly 
difficult to get it moist clear through again. If your plants 
do get dried in this way let them get a thorough saturation 
by soaking up water from below in a pan or tub. Or apply 
a Httle water at a time at intervals of half an hour or so 
until the soil is again in good condition. 

Early in the season, when the soil does not dry out so 
quickly and there is more danger of overwatering than of 
underwatering, water the plants early in the morning on 
bright days so the foHage can be dried off before night. 
Later, when it is difficult to keep the soil wet enough, water 
late in the afternoon. 

It is important, whenever it is possible, that the air as 
as well as the soil be kept reasonably moist. In the green- 
house this can be accomplished by an occasional sprinkling 
of walks and benches. In the hot-bed or cold-frame, where 
outside air has freer access,' there is not likely to be trouble 
from overdry air. 

As to how often to water there can be no special rule of 
thumb ; it will depend upon the condition of the soil, which 
will begin to get Hght colored and dry on top as the moisture 
content gets too low. When this is the case give a thorough 
watering that will soak the soil clear through to the bottom. 
If you are not sure just how much to give go over the pots or 
flats some fifteen minutes after the watering and examine 
the soil carefully to make sure that it is wet clear through. 
Plants set in beds or in cold frames will not need watering 
so often as those in flats and pots. 

Fresh Air Essential for Healthy Plants 

Air. Plenty of fresh air must be given at ^11 times if the 
plants are to be kept healthy. Especially is this necessary 



66 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

as the plants begin to reach the size for setting out. In the 
greenhouse or hot-bed fresh air should be given every day. 
As soon as the weather is warm enough the hot-bed sash 
should be stripped off entirely during the warm days. 
Plants in the greenhouse should be transferred to the cold- 
frame or to some sheltered spot where they can be protected 
from late frosts some time before they are wanted to be set 
out of doors. As much fresh air as possible should be 
given, without too greatly lowering the temperature. 
Direct drafts on the plants, or too sudden variations of 
temperature, should be avoided. 

Light. Even an abundance of fresh air will not keep 
seedHngs from ''drawing up" into spindling, worthless 
plants when they are kept in dark or shady corners. Full 
light should be given. Any seedlings that seem inclined to 
grow too tall should be kept as near the glass as possible. 
To make even growth the potted plants should occasionally 
be shifted round to prevent their becoming one sided, and 
those that are on the back or center of the bench should be 
put toward the front. Potted plants for bedding, which are 
usually kept in the pots for a longer period than the vege- 
table plants, should be handled over this way occasionally, 
and the surface of the soil lightly broken up. 

Temperature. The temperature, whatever it should 
be for the plants to be grown, should be kept as constant as 
possible. It is an easy matter to get the house or the 
frames too hot when long, bright days come. Sashes can 
be removed, but in the greenhouse it is often impossible 
late in the spring to keep the temperature down, even with 
all the ventilators open. Shading the glass may be neces- 
sary. A weak whitewash or even a very thin clay mud may 
be used for temporary purposes. 

Protection. The old adage about an ounce of preven- 
tion applies here with double force. All the conditions, such 
as extremes of watering or temperature, overcrowding, 
shady corners, and so forth, which are unfavorable to 
growth, invite trouble from insects and disease. Fresh air, 
abundance of room and sunshine discourage these troubles. 




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MARCH: SECOND WEEK 67 

If you have been bothered before by green plant Hce, use 
tobacco dust freely round the foHage and the soil before 
they appear. If they get a start spray thoroughly with a 
nicotine solution, or fumigate if you can make the place 
tight. If you haven't a compressed-air tank sprayer buy a 
substantial brass hand spray, which can also be used for 
many side jobs in the small garden. 

Transplanting and Hardening Of 

In transplanting get everything ready before you begin 
work. Have the soil in the flats moist but not wet enough 
to be sticky, and that in the fiat from which the plants are 
being taken slightly dry, so the roots may easily be dis- 
entangled without being left bare. Take the small plants 
out in chunks and separate them carefully. Place them in 
pots or flats deep enough so that they will stand up sturdily. 
Plants with long stems, such as beets, cabbages and cauli- 
flower, can be cut down nearly to the first leaf. Tomatoes, 
peppers, eggplants, and all flowers that are started early 
should be given a second transplanting, preferably into 
pots. Paper pots are much cheaper and are easily kept 
watered. If clay pots are used they should be sunk into 
soil or ashes or moss to prevent their drying out too quickly. 

Potted plants for the flower garden may need two or 
three shifts before they are as large as wanted. The time 
for changing them will be indicated by the roots' forming a 
network upon the outside of the ball of earth. A shift 
should be given while these roots are still white and active. 
If left too long and allowed to become tough and woody the 
plant will be severely checked if not permanently injured. 
In transplanting and repotting, water thoroughly after the 
operation and then keep the plants shaded from the hot 
sun for a few days. Water sparingly — only to moisten the 
foliage. 

All hardy plants, such as beets, cabbage, cauliflower, 
lettuce and kohl-rabi, and the early flowers, such as pansies, 
daisies, pyrethrum and so forth, should be hardened off 



68 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

thoroughly before being placed in permanent positions. 
If they are growing in a frame leave the sash off night and 
day; if they are in a greenhouse shift them to the outside. 
Careful watch should be kept, especially just after they 
are put out, to see that a sudden change in temperature does 
not catch them some night. Any of these things, when they 
are properly hardened, can stand a few degrees of frost 
without being injured. It is a good plan to have a number 
of cloth frames on hand for use over these things during the 
two weeks or so before they are to be set out, as these will 
give ample protection, and the glass sash can be used over 
the more tender things or to forward crops growing in the 
frames. If in spite of your watchfulness the plants should 
get frozen some night keep them shaded from the sun the 
next morning, and thaw them out with very cold water. 

A number of the flowering plants that are grown from 
seed, such as hehotrope, salvia, antirrhinum, and the like, 
tend to grow up to single tall stalks, though rugged branch- 
ing plants are desired. As soon as the plants begin to make 
strong growth after transplanting, the tops should be 
pinched out to induce the growth of the side shoots. The 
tops, if large and firm enough, may be used for cuttings to 
make a second batch of plants. 



March: Third Week 

THE FIRST PLANTING AND SEEDING IN THE 

OPEN GARDEN 

As soon as the pussy willows push open their Kttle gray 
buds the gardener begins to wonder when he would better 
begin planting. Naturally he is anxious to have his first 
mess of peas just a few days ahead of his next-door neighbor; 
but, on the other hand, he does not want to lose his plants 
or have his peas rot in the ground. A few things that can 
be planted "as soon as the ground is fit to work" include 
sweet peas, smooth garden peas, radishes, onions and spin- 
ach. Other early things should not be put into the ground 
too hurriedly. Often a warm period, which will dry out the 
soil so it can be spaded and put into fairly good condition, 
will be succeeded by a few days or a week of real winter 
weather, and the early plants and such seeds as beets and 
carrots may be damaged considerably. 

In the latitude of New York and Chicago the first plant- 
ing may be done from the last week in March to the middle 
of April, according to season and soil. Plants that may be 
set out as soon as hard freezing at night lets up are cabbage, 
lettuce, beets, broccoli and kohl-rabi. The rest of the early 
vegetables for sowing in the open are beets, cabbage, 
lettuce, carrots, kohl-rabi, onions, parsley, parsnips, salsify, 
turnips, and water cress; and cauliflower, celery and leeks, 
to be transplanted later. Cauliflower plants, wrinkled peas 
and potatoes should be held back until the weather has 
moderated still further. 

A simple rule, which varies automatically with the sea- 
son and is therefore better than a calendar date, is to plant 
the hardy things while the plum and peach trees are in 

60 



70 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

bloom, during which time the temperature will average 
about forty-five degrees in the shade. 

Make a Fine Seed Bed 

Thorough preparation of the seed bed is the most im- 
portant step in seed sowing. The soil should be dug and 
raked to get it into general good condition. Be careful to 
get all manure well turned under, and mixed with the soil. 
If left in a solid layer beneath the surface, in a dry season 
it may do more harm than good, by cutting off the water 
supply from below. Just before you plant go over the 
ground thoroughly again, so it will be moist clear to the top, 
and the surface should be made as fine and as level as you 
can make it. 

A number of the garden seeds, such as onions, carrots, 
and turnips, are very small and must not be planted deep. 



U-»,Xc35i 




Wrong way Correct way 

If the soil is rough and lumpy it will dry out very quickly on 
top, even at this time of year, when a few inches below the 
surface it is abundantly moist. 

It is no less important to prepare the soil thoroughly 
where plants are to be set out. It must be fine and mellow 
to pack closely round the hundreds of Httle rootlets, and to 
form a dust mulch on the surface as soon as the planting 
is done. 

In the small garden there is no excuse for the rows not 
being straight as a string. Mark off the first one with your 
garden line. If the soil is in the right condition you can 
''snap" a mark into it; have the line tight, raise it at two 
or three points along the row and let it snap back against 
the soil. Otherwise mark the row with your rake handle. 
Then watch your wheel, if you use the seed drill, and keep 








Plate 5. — x\mong the time saving, labor saving attachments available 
for the wheel hoe is the double plow used for opening furrows in planting pota- 
toes, peas or beans, or for covering under manure or fertilizer before setting 
out plants. {Lower) In setting plants, have the ground prepared in advance, 
keep the plants exposed to wind and sun as short a time as possible, 2ind firm the 
earth well about the roots. 




Plate 6. — In small gardens and flower beds, where seeds must be planted by 
hand, a straight edged wide board is a great convenience. {Lower) In sowing 
very fine seed, such as that of many flowers, use a brick or piece of smooth 
board to press the surface down smooth. This will tend to keep it moist and ' 
insure good germination. 



MARCH: THIRD WEEK 71 

it straight on this row so that the succeeding rows will be 
exactly parallel. 

Don't just empty a packet of seed into the drill. If you 
have a garden plan you will know just exactly what you 
have to do. Anyway figure out just how much of each 
thing you want to plant, and plant no more or no less. 
If a little seed of some things is left over — not enough to 
save — throw it away. 

In planting very early in the spring you should keep in 
mind existing conditions, which are quite different from 
those that will obtain later. At this time of the year the 
ground is hkely to be too wet rather than too dry. There- 
fore seeds should be planted comparatively shallow, not 
so deeply covered as you would cover the same kind of 
seed six or eight weeks hence. For the same reason it 
will not be so necessary to roll the soil hard above the seeds, 
though they should never be covered loosely. Seeds should 
be planted thickly, as conditions are not wholly favorable. 

Planting by Hand 

When seeds have to be put in by hand use a long flat 
board twelve or fifteen inches wide. Mark out the drill 
along one edge of this, then kneel on the board and scatter 
the seeds thinly and evenly. Cover them lightly and press 
down the whole row evenly with the edge of the board. 

Fertilizer or manure for vegetables sown from seed is 
almost always broadcast on the surface before planting, 
Part of that used for plants to be set out, however, should 
be applied in the hill. The quickest way of doing this, 
when any number of plants is to go out, is to open a row 
with the hoe attachment on the wheel hoe, mark across the 
row. drop the fertilizer or manure at the intersections of the 
lines and then cover the row again — the marks left between 
the rows showing where the plants are to be set. When 
only a few dozen plants are to be set, however, it will 
probably be quicker simply to mark out the rows, dig small 
holes with the hoe at each place, drop in the manure or 



72 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



fertilizer, mix it with the soil and fill the hole level again 
ready for the plant. Do your transplanting on a cloudy 
day, or late in the afternoon. 

In the following planting table necessary information is 
given for planting the various early crops. 



EARLY HARDY CROPS 



VEGETABLES 



Asparagus 

Beets 

Broccoli 

Cabbage 

Carrots 

Cauliflower 

Celery 

Endive 

Kohl-rabi 

Leek 

Lettuce plants 

Lettuce seed 

Onions 

Onion seedlings 

Parsley 

Parsnips . . 

Peas, smooth, for early planting 

Peas, wrinkled 

Potatoes 

Radishes 

Salsify 

Swiss chard 

Turnips 



SEEDS OR 

PLANTS FOR 

50 FEET 

OF ROW 



50 
100-150 

35 
35 

35 
yi oz. 

y^ oz. 

% oz. 

yi oz. 

50 

% oz. 

yi oz. 

150 

yi oz. 
yi oz. 

I pt. 

I pt. 

Kpk. 

yi oz. 

^ oz. 
% oz. 

y2 oz. 



DEPTH IN 
INCHES 



^2 



^4~Z2 



'i/.— 



'2-1 

1-2 

2-4 

3-4 
I/. 



72 



APART 

IN ROWS, 

INCHES 



12 

4-6 
18 
18 

3-4 
18 

2-3 

12 

6-8 

3-4 
8-12 
12 
2-3 
4 

4-6 

3-5 

2-4 

24-48 

13 
2-3 
2-4 
8-12 
4-6 



DISTANCE 

APART OF 

ROWS, 

INCHES 



36 
12-15 
24 
24 
12 
24 
12 
12 
18 

IS 
12-15 
12-15 
12-15 
12-15 

12 
15-18 
36 
36-48 

28 

12 
15-18 
15-18 

15 



Beets. Plants should be set out in rows a foot apart, 
with about four plants to the foot. The seed should be 
sown in the driest soil available, from half an inch to one 
inch deep. 

Cabbage. Well-hardened plants will withstand cold. 
Most of the first planting should be of a late variety. A 
packet or two of seed should be sown to furnish plants for 
summer and early fall. Make the rows six to ten inches 
apart. 



MARCH: THIRD WEEK i^ 73 

Carrots. Sow the seed thickly; cove^ very lightly with 
very fine soil. 

Cauliflower. Usually this should not be put out 
until a week or two after the cabbage. Broccoli is 
hardier. 

Lettuce. The plants should be set about a foot apart 
each way, though the smallest varieties, such as Tom Thumb 
or Mignonette, may be set closer. A little semiliquid hen 
manure put under each plant will help in producing rapid 
and large growth. Seed of one of the summer varieties and 
of one of the early varieties should be sown when the plants 
are set or shortly after. The plants should be thinned out 
as soon as they are large enough. 

Onions. A few sets should be put out to furnish an extra- 
early supply. If large bulbs are wanted the sets should be 
small and hard. If green or bunched onions to eat raw are 
wanted size will not make much difference. The bed for 
the seeds should be particularly well prepared. It is a good 
plan to mix a few radish seeds with the onions, as they 
come up quickly and mark the rows and also serve as traps 
for the onion fly. 

Of the garnishes, "green" onions are among the best. 
These are usually grown from "sets," or small onions, which 
were sown the year before, and this is the best way to get 
the really early ones for the table. The sets known as 
"white" or Silverskin should be used, as they are small, 
quick-growing and mild. For succession grow white onions 
from seed, to be used as a garnish for salads. The flavor 
of a young onion, grown quickly from seed in porous mellow 
soil, where there has been no check from lack of moisture, 
is extremely delicate and far surpasses that of those grown 
from sets. There should be several sowings so you can 
continue to use them when the bulbs are the size of chest- 
nuts. 

To grow onions the soil should be the richest possible; 
it will be well to dig in the manure from the chicken house 
and the ashes from the wood fire. A commercial fertilizer 
analyzing 4-7-10 — four per cent nitrogen, seven per cent 



74 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

phosphoric acid and ten per cent potash — should be broad- 
cast before raking and the surface of the beds made very 
fine and even. Sow the seed thinly in drills a foot apart to 
fifteen inches for wheel-hoe culture, and not deeper than 
half an inch. Sowing should be done when the soil is moist 
enough to work well. 

Parsley. The seed germinates very slowly and should be 
soaked a day or two in lukewarm water before planting. 

Parsnips and Salsify. Both of these good winter vege- 
tables have peculiar-shaped seeds. The ground where they 
are to be planted should be spaded deeply, as they require 
a generous depth of soil in order to make shapely roots. 
Thin out as soon as they are well started. 

Peas. These may be sown in single or twin rows about 
six inches apart, making the rows three to four feet apart 
for the dwarf varieties and a little more for the tall ones if 
brush is to be used. Make the first plantings quite shallow, 
and sow extra thick. If they come up too thickly some of 
the plants should be cut out with a small hoe, or pulled 
out. 

Radishes. Sow only a few feet of row at a time, as they 
mature very quickly and soon get stringy and pithy. A 
good method is to sow a short row in the seed border each 
week. A generous dressing of land plaster along the row 
before sowing will make them bright and crisp. 

Turnips. These mature quickly, and only a few of the 
earHer sorts should be sown. Weed the rows and thin out 
as soon as possible after they are up. 



March : Fourth Week 

FIRST PLANTING OF FLOWERS OUT-DOORS; 
PRUNING ROSES; WORK WITH THE HARDY 
BORDER; GETTING A START WITH ANNUALS 

Spring work in the flower garden, like that in the veg- 
etable garden, cannot be done all at one time. But the 
earlier start you can get, and the more you can keep ahead 
of the several jobs to be done, the better. To do their best, 
flowers require a large amount of moisture in the soil, and 
the best way to provide this is to work the beds up as soon 
as rainy weather lets up. 

For the purposes of planting, it is important to know 
whether flowers are hardy, half hardy or tender. This in- 
formation is almost always given on the packets in which 
the seeds come. It is a good plan to plant flowers of the 
various groups soon after you plant vegetables of the cor- 
responding groups. Sweet peas, however, should be planted 
as early as possible. 

Along with other information on your packets of flower 
seeds you will note the direction "or start early under 
glass." You may have started some already if you have a 
hot-bed; if not it is by no means too late to start them in the 
cold-frame or the hot-bed now — but you must do it at once. 
The half-hardy and tender plants cannot safely be planted 
in the open for four to seven weeks to come. If seeds of 
these are to be sown in flats and the seedlings transplanted 
before setting out in the garden, they may be put in quite 
thickly. If there is not time or room for this sow the seeds 
rather thinly in rows four to six inches apart in the frame 
and thin the plants to stand two or three inches apart. In 
this way a good supply of stocky Httle plants, which will 
advance your flower garden several weeks, can be grown 
with very little trouble. 

75 



76 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

A Substitute for a Cold-frame 

If not even a cold-frame is available a specially prepared 
seed bed may be made in some sheltered place, south of a 
wall or building, and protected from any drip from the eaves 
above. Spade up a narrow border four or five feet wide, 
raising it a little above the general level of the garden. Un- 
less it is naturally good soil and can be made fine and mellow, 
put on top some four inches of clean, rich soil from one of the 
old flower beds. Make the bed perfectly smooth and mark 
out shallow drills six to ten inches apart. Cover the flower 
seeds Hghtly and then roll, or gently pack down the whole 
surface with the back of the spade. This bed should be 
conveniently situated, so it can be watered either with the 
hose or with a watering can. In preparing the bed, rake in 
a good dressing of bone flour. The plants should be thinned 
out as soon as they are large enough so they will not crowd. 
With very little extra work you can have from a border four 
by six feet a good many hundred plants of many different 
kinds ready to set out in the beds only a little later than 
you would ordinarily sow the seed. 

Plants that do not lend themselves to transplanting, such 
as poppies, and some of the quick-growing annuals, like 
portulacas, are almost always sown where they are to flower. 
The surface of the soil should be made as fine as possible, no 
matter how many times it has to be gone over. The seed is 
thinly broadcast or dropped in rows on the surface, if very 
small, and pressed into the soil with the edge of a board or 
with a brick. 

In preparing the flower beds work in all the manure and 
humus you can and in addition give a top-dressing of bone 
dust or mixed fertilizers. If the beds are spaded up some 
weeks before you expect to plant them rake them over 
occasionally to destroy sprouting weeds and to maintain a 
dust mulch. 

If tree roots invade the flower bed cut down about the 
edge of the bed with an edger or with a sharp spade, going 



MARCH: FOURTH WEEK 77 

as deep as you can. If there is much trouble from this source 
it will pay to repeat the operation several times during the 
summer, keeping the roots cut off while they are small. 

In buying plants for your flower garden, keep in mind that 
good health and a growing condition are to be preferred 
to size. Also resist the temptation to get one of each thing 
rather than sticking to a few good sorts and colors. A bed 
of geraniums of one solid color is very much more artistic 
and effective than one in which shades of pink, red and 
white are indiscriminately mixed. 

First Work in the Rose Garden 

The most important part of the year's work in the rose 
garden must be attended to soon. When severe freezing 
weather begins to let up and the frost is pretty well out of the 
ground take the mulching off the rose bed and from around 
the single plants. It is best not to do this all at once, how- 
ever, but to take off a Httle at a time, leaving only so much 
about the plants as can be readily worked under when the 
soil between the plants is forked up. A dressing of fine bone 
or bone flour and coarse bone mixed should be worked 
deeply into the soil at this time. If the soil has been hiUed 
up round the stalks in the fall for winter protection it should 
be leveled at this time. 

Spring Pruning of Roses 

As soon as the dormant buds or eyes start along the old 
canes, or swell into leaf buds so large that you can tell where 
there is deadwood, begin pruning. The hardy perpetual 
sorts should be pruned first. Garden roses flower on new 
wood, so in cutting back you are not destroying any possible 
roses. The average gardener is much more likely to prune 
too little than too much. Stronger varieties are pruned 
less severely than those of a weaker habit of growth. If the 
plants are lightly pruned they will bear many flowers of 
small size. If moderately pruned they will bear fewer and 



78 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

larger flowers; while for the largest and finest individual 
blossoms the plants should be very severely pruned. 

Beginning with the hybrid perpetuals, which are the 
hardiest and most robust in growth among the garden 
roses, cut out clear to the ground all but four to eight canes, 
and cut these back from a third to a half. For large flowers, 
cut these remaining canes back to four to eight eyes or buds 
from the ground. The hybrid teas, many of which are 
comparatively weak growing, will need more severe pruning, 
but they can be cut back until the garden looks like a collec- 
tion of stubs without in any way injuring the quality, and 
not greatly lessening the quantity, of their flowers. Leave 
canes placed as evenly as possible and as spreading as pos- 
sible so that the bush will have an open center. Always cut 
about a quarter of an inch above an outside eye, so the new 
branch will grow outward. 

Occasionally a rose bush will throw up a very strong- 
growing cane looking quite different from the others and 
bearing very few or no buds. Such a growth should be cut 
out. If each leaflet has seven parts instead of five you may 
know that the cane springs from below the collar or graft of 
a budded rose, and unless it is destroyed it will be likely to 
kill all the upper part of the plant. 

The rambler roses are of an entirely different type and 
should not be pruned early in spring further than to cut out 
any very old, diseased or broken wood, or to cut the plant 
into more shapely form. In this case all the live wood that 
is cut away does sacrifice flowers. The rugosas or Japanese 
roses, which are very hardy, require little pruning except 
to cut the old canes clear to the ground when they become 
too thick. The same is true of roses belonging to the Bour- 
bon, China and polyantha classes — the latter including 
most of the dwarf and baby roses. 

Roses may be bought as dormant roots or as potted plants 
in active growth. The dormant roots should be planted as 
early as it is possible to work the soil. Growing plants 
should not be set out until after danger from frost. The 
bed should be dug out to a depth of two or three feet, and 



MARCH: FOURTH WEEK 79 

the subsoil broken up with a pick; then a layer of drainage 
material, such as coal or cinder, several inches thick should 
be put in and covered with sod; and on top of this a layer 
of good garden soil, well enriched with manure or bone dust, 
should be placed, extending within six inches or so of the 
surface. It is well not to enrich the top layer of soil, so the 
roots will be induced to grow downward rather than to 
feed near the surface. (See directions on page 300.) 

The plants should be set in a little deeper than they have 
been growing, as shown by the soil mark on the stem. The 
union or collar should be two or three inches below the sur- 
face. Great care should be taken to keep the roots moist, 
well covered with moss or burlap, while planting. Do not 
leave them lying round exposed to wind or sun, even for a 
few moments. After planting, prune the plant back even 
more severely than you would a well-established rose of the 
same kind. 

Work with the Hardy Border 

Do not be in too great a rush to get the mulch off the 
hardy border. It should be left on until all danger of a 
premature start, owing to a false promise of spring weather, 
is past. Do not, on the other hand, leave the mulching on 
until the plants start beneath it and then expose the tender 
new growth to a late frost. It is best to remove the cover 
gradually. If manure was used, work as much of it as pos- 
sible into the soil as soon as it is dry enough to fork. At the 
same time add bone dust or mixed fertiHzer. Borders or 
beds for perennials should be prepared as soon as possible, 
and if the plants do not come from too far south of their 
permanent location they will bloom this summer. Potted 
stock is usually a little more expensive than field-grown 
stuff, but it will give much better results. 

Almost every spring the gardener will want to move about 
some of his own old plants. This is desirable if he wishes to 
increase his stock or has varieties that have become crowded 
after a number of years. Some things can be increased by 



8o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

division of the old clumps, such as iris, hardy phlox and lily 
of the valley. 

All surface soil in the borders should be forked over as 
deeply as possible without injuring the plants, and then 
should be raked or hoed fine and loose. In sections where 
there is likely to be a long summer drought it is well to keep 
the winter mulch handy to apply again as a sunamer mulch. 

Getting a Start with the Annuals 

Popular judgment is not far wrong when it comes to 
picking out the best of the annuals. But, paradoxically 
enough, some of the best-known annuals are the least known. 
Take nasturtiums, for instance. Nine persons out of ten 
still buy seed in collections. Why not buy a few of the 
splendid new named sorts? The seed costs more. But 
nasturtiums are almost always planted too thick to do well. 
The dwarf sorts make good borders. They flower profusely 
even in poor soil. 

Sweet peas used to be bought almost altogether by the 
"collection" also, but dozens of named varieties are now 
well known. A little extra attention given to the planting 
and care of your sweet peas will be amply repaid. For best 
results trench the rows, forking in at the bottom a good layer 
of rotted manure. The rows, if in a well-drained position, 
may be made about six inches deep at first. Cover the seed 
about two inches, and gradually fill the trench as the plants 
grow. Leave a slight depression to help in watering. Pro- 
vide a suitable trellis before the vines begin to climb. 
Mulch with leaf mold, grass, or Hght manure as dry weather 
comes on; the mulch is desirable even when water can be 
given, as it prevents alternate drying and soaking of the soil 
and keeps it cool. 

Poppies cover a wide range of form and color, and may 
now be had in numerous named varieties. The seed of the 
annual sorts is very fine, and care should be exercised to 
make the seed bed as fine as possible. Unless the soil is 
moist, water it thoroughly several hours before planting. 



MARCH: FOURTH WEEK 8l 

Scatter the seed as evenly as possible and then firm the 
whole surface with a small board or with the back of a 
spade. Thin out, on a cloudy day, if the plants are too thick. 

For brilliant and lasting mass effects, with a minimum of 
expense and trouble, no flowers exceed the plebeian petunia. 
For most bedding purposes the single-flowered sorts, in 
separate colors, are preferable. The seed is quite small and 
germinates freely, but the plants are usually left too close 
together to produce the best results. Thin to stand eight 
to twelve inches apart. In thinning the double sorts, re- 
move the strongest plants, as they are more likely to bear 
single or worthless flowers. 

For low-growing, spreading plants to give brilUant masses 
of color up to hard frosts, glorifying the autumn garden, 
sow a few beds or parts of beds to verbenas. They may be 
thinned to ten to twelve inches at first, and then every other 
plant removed and set out where earlier flowers have gone 
by or failed. There is a new crested type quite distinct from 
the older sorts. 



April : First Week 

POINTERS ON PLANTING; PROTECTION FROM 
LATE FROSTS; LABELS AND MARKERS; CARE 
OF TOOLS 

There are usually one right way and several wrong ways 
of doing the simplest garden operation. Take, for instance, 
the use of the spade and the rake. 

In using the spade the hard part is generally not so much 
in lifting and turning the soil as in breaking it away before 
it is lifted. Handle the spade so that only one edge of the 
piece being dug will have to be broken away — making the 
cut slightly diagonal. A beginner at raking almost always 
makes the mistake of attempting to use the implement as 
he would to rake grass. But the purpose here is to fine and 
level the soil, necessitating a backward-and-forward move- 
ment over a small piece of ground. 

Some Pointers on Planting 

Practically all seed sowing is now done by machinery, but 
occasionally it is necessary to employ the old art of hand 
sowing, especially for flower seeds in the small garden. 
The best way to handle very small seeds is to mix them with 
fine, dry sand or dirt, which makes it possible to get a much 
more even distribution in the drill. Small seeds of which 
only a few are wanted may usually be sown from the packet. 
Hand planting is best done with a board twelve to fifteen 
inches wide, which can be used to mark out the row, to 
kneel on when sowing the seed, turned on edge to press the 
seed into the furrow for covering, and turned over to mark 
out the next row. This insures straight rows and at the 
same time avoids tramping down the soil. 

82 



APRIL: FIRST WEEK 83 

It is frequently desirable to hurry a crop along, or, when 
conditions are not favorable for sprouting, to give the seeds 
some treatment before planting. The method generally 
used is to soak the seeds from twenty-four to forty-eight 
hours in tepid water so they will be at the point of germina- 
tion before they are put into the soil. This is specially 
desirable for seeds that germinate slowly, such as celery, 
parsley, and the like. But it can be used to advantage in 
other cases — to get a quick start with peas, for instance. 
Hard-shelled seeds, such as cannas and moonfiowers, may 
be filed or notched with a sharp knife, and then soaked. 
Do not allow soaked seeds to become dried out again before 
planting. They may be rolled in dry dust or in gypsum to 
prevent their sticking together in planting. 

It often happens that plants received by mail or express 
in the course of the spring have to be kept for several days 
before they can be set out, although they should always be 
put into the ground as soon as possible. When the plants 
arrive unpack them carefully and look them over to see that 
you have just the right numbers of the right varieties. 
Untie the packages so the plants can get plenty of air, but 
keep them where they will be protected from wind and sun 
and will be kept cool. The roots should be kept moist either 
by heeling them in moist earth or by having moist moss or 
burlap wrapped round them. 

Protection from Late Frosts 

Sometimes plants are large enough to set out before condi- 
tions are just right for them. The first thing to do with 
plants that have grown as large as you want them to be is to 
get them into the open air. Keep them where they can be 
protected from frost, but where they can get full sun and 
air. Give just enough water to keep the soil from drying 
out. Water thoroughly, however, the day before planting, 
so that the soil and roots will be in the right condition. 

Occasionally during March, April and early May in the 
Northern States the gardener who is trying to be early will 



84 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

have a dose call from frost. When there are indications of a 
dew fall and the thermometer drops rapidly late in the day, 
and the air is still, and the sky is clear, the gardener's safe 
course is to cover the plants. Those in the cold-frames, if 
covered even with cloth sash, will be protected from several 
degrees of frost. Blankets and old bags and burlaps sup- 
ported above the plants on a few short sticks will answer 
the same purpose. 

For plants that have already been set out other means will 
be necessary. One of the most effective methods of covering 
such early things as potatoes and peas is to run the wheel hoe 
with the hilling attachment along the row and hill up the 
earth over the plants. 

Also you will find it well to save a supply of newspapers, 
with which in a few minutes you can cover up a hundred or 
two hundred plants or hills of such things as pole beans, 
tomatoes, melons or squash; put several thicknesses of 
newspaper over each and hold the edges down with a few 
trowelfuls of dirt. Inverted tomato cans or flower pots may 
be used to protect individual plants. 

If, in spite of all your precautions, some of your plants 
get nipped they should be protected from the sun the next 
morning and watered as early as possible with very cold 
water. This may form a very thin coating of ice on the 
leaves, but it will serve to get the frost out gradually, which 
lessens the damage. 

Instead of temporary frost protection of this kind, how- 
ever, much better and earHer results are to be had by per- 
manent plant protectors, of which there are numerous kinds 
to be bought or made. One of the simplest is the plain 
forcing hill, which is nothing but a pane of glass on top of a 
bank of soil about the hill or plant. In many soils, however, 
this cannot be successfully accomplished; and it is always 
somewhat of a makeshift method, open to the objection 
that the hollowed hills collect water when it rains, and are 
too low for most purposes. One of the various types of 
individual forcers to be bought can be used to great ad- 
vantage, particularly when only a few are required. With 




Plate 8. — When transplanting in hot, dry weather, make sure of having the 
plants in firm by packing the soil close about the roots by using the balls of the 
feet, after planting. {Lower) To keep plants from wilting, shade from the hot 
sun with newspapers, held in place with a little soil. 



APRIL: FIRST WEEK 85 

care they will last a great many years, so that the cost is by 
no means prohibitive. Two inexpensive and practical forc- 
ing frames adapted to such tall plants as tomatoes may be 
sawed from an ordinary cracker box, with glass about 
thirteen by twenty-two inches fitted in one side. For 
melons, etc., they may be made flat, as shown in the cut on 
page II. 

Labels and Markers 

One of the little things commonly overlooked in the 
garden is careful marking of both vegetables and flowers in 
order that one may keep tabs on varieties, dates, yields, 
colors, and so forth. How often one sees an empty seed 
packet on a stick or held down by a stone as the only garden 
record! It does not take long to learn that such a make- 
shift tag will be blown away or obHterated by the mud and 
rain. When a hundred eight-inch garden labels can be 
bought for thirty-five cents there is no excuse for the 
gardener who does not know when and where he has put 
everything that grows in his garden. A more expensive but 
more convenient form of label is a small card which is held 
on a covered plate placed at a convenient angle on an up- 
right iron stake; on this a record card can be kept plainly 
visible but protected from the elements. 

If you have not made a planting plan in advance secure 
a good-sized armful of stakes — pieces of shingle, or kindling 
strips, or v/hips 
of willow or birch 
— before you be- 
gin to sow seeds. 
Stick them up 

along one edge, marking off with each the space for one 
variety of seed. 

If you haven't a reel and a marking line, by all means get a 
ball of stout twine and a couple of short sticks. For rows of 
plants, or for such seeds as are not planted with the seed 
drill, a one-row marker may be made by naiHng or bolting a 
strip of inch stuff to the wheelbarrow and attaching a short 





86 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

chain to this to drag. A regular marker may be made 
easily with a six-foot strip of two-by-two-inch pine and a 
half dozen twelve-inch spikes. Find the center of the strip 
and make marks six inches from the center on each side; 
then make marks every twelve inches each way to the end. 
Bore six holes sHghtly smaller than the spikes and drive 
these into place. Fasten a handle to the strip. 

Keep the Tools Bright and Sharp 

Probably nothing will so cut down the gardener's work, 
take it the season through, as bright, sharp tools. After 
using them wipe them off with a few old pieces of burlap and 
then go over them with a cloth well soaked with oil. Have 
a good flat file, costing fifteen or twenty 
cents, with which to ''touch up" your 
hoes, wheel-hoe attachments, and so 
forth, as they become dulled through 
use. If the heads of any of your tools 
become loose half a day's soaking in a pail 
of water will usually tighten them up. 
If the garden is not handy to the tool 
shed much time may be saved by getting 
a substantial dry-goods box of conven- 
ient size, fitting it up with a pair of cheap hinges and a 
couple of shelves, and giving it a coat of paint; it will make 
a miniature tool house to be kept at the head of the garden. 
A simple but practical garden reel may be made as fol- 
lows: Take a piece of inch or inch-and-a-half hardwood four 
inches wide and eighteen to twenty-four inches long. Make 
a tapering point on one end, and in the middle of the other 
end bore a hole large enough to take a half-inch bolt. Make 
a simple spool out of two pieces of half-inch stuff, and a core 
of two-inch stuff, round or square. Through the latter bore 
a hole in which the half-inch bolt can turn easily as the axis. 
You will always know where to find your line. 

Plant supports, to be used for tomatoes and such plants 
in the flower garden as may need low supports, may be made 



V 



APRIL: FIRST WEEK 87 

of wooden barrel hoops and laths. Two hoops and three or 
four laths are used for each support. With shingle nails 
fasten one hoop near the ends of the laths, and another 
twelve to eighteen inches from the first hoop. Point the 
other ends of the laths so they may easily be sunk into the 
ground as deep as may be required. 

A support for tomatoes, pole beans, etc., that is much 
better than the ordinary plain stake, is shown in the figure 
on page 11. 



April : Second Week 

MAKING NEW PERENNIAL GARDENS AND BOR- 
DERS; NEW STRAWBERRY AND ASPARAGUS 
BEDS 

One of the important early spring tasks — a good job for 
one of those raw days when it is too bright and sunny to 
stay in the house but too windy and cold to be comfortable 
doing ordinary jobs outside — is the making of any new 
gardens or beds that may be desired. The regular garden 
for vegetables or flowers has to be prepared every spring; 
beds for perennial plants have to be made only once in 
many years, so their preparation must be particularly 
thorough. By the same token one can afford to take the 
time and trouble to make a thorough job of it. A well- 
made asparagus bed will last ten to twenty years. A thor- 
oughly prepared hardy border, if it is given reasonable care 
every year, will last indefinitely. 

The most favored position for a hardy border is along a 
walk or drive, separated from the edge of the drive by a 
narrow strip of sod. Other good locations are in front of 
a shrubbery border, or along a wall or other undesirable 
boundary line, where, properly planted, the plants may 
be made to serve the double purpose of a screen and of 
adding to the apparent size of the place. Small beds and 
single clumps, which may be used very effectively, deserve 
just as much care and preparation, but be careful in plan- 
ning them to avoid getting a hole-in-the-iawn effect that 
will spoil the appearance of any place. 

The border may be made either in full sun or in partial 
shade, if the plants to go in are selected with care. But at 
least part of it, to grow bright-colored flowers for cutting, 
should be well in the sun. 

88 



APRIL: SECOND WEEK 89 

Make Sure of Good Drainage 

The soil makes little difference, except that it must be 
well drained. Most perennials will not live where water 
stands at or near the surface. There are of course excep- 
tions, such as iris and bog and semiaquatic plants, and 
these should be used when drainage cannot be provided. 

Before work is begun the dimensions and shape of the 
border should be carefully Hned out. A quick way of doing 
this is to fill an old watering can half full of land plaster or 
lime and run a hne round the edge of the proposed bed. 
Usually the most pleasing and graceful effect may be 
achieved by having the border somewhat irregular in out- 
line. When it is put in front of shrubs it will naturally 
follow the curve of the shrubbery. 

The bed should under ordinary conditions be excavated 
to a depth of some two feet. In good, rich, well-drained 
loam this may not always be necessary, but usually it is 
advisable. Sods and the top soil should be thrown in 
separate piles to one side of the trench; stones, gravel and 
subsoil should be thrown to the other side. If the soil 
below the excavation is stiff and hard it should be broken 
up with the point of a pick. 

In refining the bed put in first a layer of drainage ma- 
terial, which may be clinkers, coarse gravel, broken brick, 
crushed stone, or anything of that nature; then a layer of 
sods with grass sides down or strawy manure or leaves that 
have been used as a winter mulch. Unless there is an ample 
supply of humus it will pay to keep the sod to chop up and 
mix with the soil where the plants will get the full benefit 
of it, as the purpose of the second layer in the trench is 
merely to keep the soil from washing down through the 
drainage material. 

For the next layer, which will be the feeding ground for 
the plant roots for some years to come, mix together the 
best of the soil, the sod chopped up into small pieces and 
one-third to one-half as much manure or rich compost. 
It will be well, if possible, to have a generous percentage 



90 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

of cow manure in the mixture. In addition, mix in a good 
supply of coarse bone — the grade known commercially as 
"inch bone" being the best for this purpose. With this 
mixture the bed should be filled to within six inches of the 
top. It should be tramped down slightly while filHng in, 
so that it will not He too loose. The top layer should be 
good garden loam, preferably run through a medium- 
meshed sieve, into which a good dressing of high-grade 
fertilizer or fine bone is mixed. This will make the job of 
plant setting very easy and will furnish congenial conditions 
for the Httle new roots. (See cut on page 300.) 

All of this may seem like a good deal of trouble to take 
for such a simple thing as a hardy border, but it is the only 
way of making sure of good results. Smaller beds, round 
beds and places for individual clumps should all be prepared 
in much the same way. When only a few plants are to be 
set a hole may be quickly prepared with a post-hole digger. 

Flower Beds for Annuals 

The making of new flower beds for annuals need not be 
done so thoroughly, as these may easily be enriched every 
year when they are dug up. It is a good plan, however, 
to remove four inches or so of the top soil and to mix the 
manure, compost or fertilizer with the soil below. This 
will put the richest part of the plants' feeding ground well 
below the surface, thus inducing the roots to strike down, 
keeping them farther away from the effects of dry weather 
and from possible injury by summer work in the bed. 

Neighboring trees are often the cause of poor results with 
flowers. Many of the ordinary fruit and shade trees send 
their roots thirty to forty feet in search of food, and when 
one of them runs across such a rich pocket as is furnished 
by a highly fertiHzed flower bed it seems to make itself at 
home, sending out a mass of fine feeding roots. Small 
roots may be cut off with the edger, shoving it down eighteen 
inches or so all round the edge of the bed. The larger ones 
must be cut back with an ax. 



APRIL: SECOND WEEK 91 

Get away from the idea that the bedding plants must be 
placed by themselves somewhere on the front lawn. It, 
as well as the perennial border, may be fitted into the gen- 
eral scheme of decoration. There is a big variety of bedding 
and annual plants to select from, and one can risk experi- 
ments with the annuals that might be inadvisable with 
perennials. 

Starting the Strawberry Bed 

The earlier you can get in your new strawberry bed the 
better. But nothing is to be gained by rushing the job 
so you do not have time properly to prepare the soil. It 
can hardly be made too rich, though fresh manure should 
be avoided. The best place, if such a plot is available, is 
where other heavily manured vegetables have been grown 
for a year or two; sod ground is inadvisable, as it is more 
likely to be infested with white grubs — the larvae of the 
common June bug. 

The home strawberry bed is not very large, and as the 
product from it is a very profitable one, at store prices, you 
can well afford to be generous in your application of manure 
and fertilizer. Whether you get your plants locally or order 
them from a distance, make every effort to have the ground 
ready for them by the time they are received. If by any 
chance you have to keep them waiting, loosen the bundles — 
but don't lose the tags — and heel them in a shadow trench 
in a shady place, moistening the soil first. 

Either the hill or the narrow or hedgerow system may be 
used to advantage in the home garden. The former will 
produce the finer specimens of fruit, but the runners must be 
kept cut off without fail, so frequently the hedgerow sys- 
tem will prove more satisfactory. 

In hills the plants may be set a foot to eighteen inches 
apart, in single rows two feet apart; or in narrow beds of 
three or four rows each. In the row system they are set a 
foot or eighteen inches apart in rows two to three feet 
apart. In this system three or four of the first runners from 
each plant are allowed to root, but are turned along the 



92 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

row to keep it narrow. Others should be cut off as they 
appear. Keep cleanly cultivated. If the weeds are allowed 
to get a start the tangle of vines and weeds will very quickly 
make a great deal of work to save the crop. 

Strawberries up to Frost 

The fall-fruiting berries have come to stay, at least so 
far as the home garden is concerned. There is no reason 
why you should not have good berries right up to frost. 

Moreover, you can get a crop this fall from plants set 
out this spring. Plant and treat in the ordinary way, but 
keep the blossom stalks pinched off until July. Progressive 
is on the whole the most satisfactory of this type so far 
developed. Superb is another good variety, with extra- 
large fruit. 

The New Asparagus Bed 

If you have been putting off an asparagus bed from year 
to year, set out at least a hundred plants this spring. As- 
paragus is not overparticular about soil, succeeding in 
any good garden loam, even if quite light and sandy. A 
good plan for the home garden is to make a bed of three 
rows, as long as may be needed and six feet wide, putting 
one row in the middle, and one a foot from each side. Set 
the plants a foot or eighteen inches apart. Good, strong, 
selected, one-year-old roots are practically as good as two- 
year-old roots, but it is not always possible to get them. 
If the soil is in good condition fair results may be had 
simply by setting the plants out, but extra preparation 
will pay well. This should be given in the form of trench- 
ing each row to a depth of some eighteen inches, and put- 
ting in the bottom a generous layer of manure or compost. 
Then fill with soil to within about four inches of the top, 
plant the crowns, spreading the roots carefully, and fill 
in more soil, leveling up to the surface as growth proceeds. 



April: Third Week 

PUTTING THE HOME GROUNDS INTO SHAPE; 
MAKING WALKS, ROADS, CURVES, AND 
GRADES. FIRST WORK WITH THE LAWN; 
PROPAGATING CANE AND BUSH FRUITS 

Work in the vegetable garden and with small fruits will 
occupy most of this month, but a number of other important 
jobs can be fitted in between times. These include various 
Httle tasks of the spring outdoor housecleaning, such as 
fixing up the lawn, putting the roads and paths into shape, 
trimming up the hedges, and so on, according to the par- 
ticular requirements of the individual place. Not infre- 
quently there are lawns or hedges or paths or some other 
features to be remade. 

Often the appearance of the grounds can be improved a 
hundred per cent by moving a few shrubs or trees, changing 
the position of a path or drive, or adding a hedge, any one 
of which may be done with comparatively little work and 
expense. 

Sometimes trimming and cleaning and pruning will make 
a place that has appeared quite neglected look as well as 
could be desired. But instead of going at the thing piece- 
meal, as is usually done, a better plan is to start at one side 
or in one corner of the grounds and do everything clean as 
you proceed. Don't overlook the little things. Spading 
up the soil around an individual shrub in a neat circle, for 
instance, takes only a few minutes, but adds greatly to the 
well-kept appearance of a place. When things are not 
exactly as you would have them, the new work should 
receive first attention, because the sooner it is done the 
greater is the chance of success. 

93 



94 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



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96 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

How to Make Curves and Grades 

One of the first problems for the beginner in landscaping 
is how to lay out any proposed change that he wants to 
make. It is quite likely to involve the construction of a 
curve, a rectangle or a grade. A poorly constructed curve 
will spoil the looks of any job. But you can easily get it 
true and of pleasing form by the following simple method: 
Get a piece of heavy twine — or better, a long rope — and a 
supply of short, pointed stakes, preferably of even size 
and length. Mark the ends of the proposed curve and two 
or three points between, and put in stakes. Go along the 
Hne again, putting stakes where you judge the curve should 
come, and then true the line until the position seems about 
right. Set your rope round the outside of the curve and this 
will bring out more clearly any imperfections. The rest of 
the job will depend upon the person using the edger. 

How to Make a True Grade 

To make a true square corner of a flower bed, croquet 
ground or tennis court, you must use a little simple arith- 
metic. Mark out two lines form- 
ing the corner, getting one as 
nearly perpendicular to the other 
as you can by guess-work. Now 
measure off accurately from the 
exact corner six feet on one line 
and eight on the other; if the 
length of the straight line be- 
tween them is ten feet the angle 
is accurate; if not, move one line until the points are ex- 
actly ten feet apart. 

To make a true grade you will first have to determine the 
form you want by making a sketch on paper. Draw a 
straight line between the highest and the lowest points, 
divide it into a number of equal spaces and measure the 
distance, to scale, between this straight line and the curve 




APRIL: THIRD WEEK 97 

of the grade. Then, on the job, drive stakes, stretch a 
stout cord to correspond to the straight line of your sketch, 
and drive other stakes until the top of each stake is the cor- 
rect distance below this line. With a few accurate points 
to go by, most of the work on any ordinary small job can 
be left to the eye. 

Good Walks and Roads 

Good walks are an important feature of any place, both 
for looks and for comfort. For good service and long wear 
on more or less formal grounds a cement walk is perhaps the 
most satisfactory. Under ordinary conditions, however, 
it is not so attractive as other walks not nearly so expensive 
to construct, and which, if reasonably well done, will be good 
enough for ordinary conditions. Of these the gravel walk 
is about the most pleasing in both looks and service. To 
last satisfactorily a gravel walk should have a foundation 
of hard dirt, or, in hght soils or wet ground, of coarse rubble 
underneath the gravel. 

If a path is to be built across a lawn or through a garden 
which is largely turf and has to be mowed, some form of 
sunken walk is preferable — fiat flagstones, bricks, or cement 
blocks may be used to form the steps. The cement blocks 
should be two to three inches thick and twelve to eighteen 
inches square, and may be made either of plain cement or 
inlaid with brick or stone in some simple pattern. When 
sand is available the cost of these blocks is very Httle, as 
the simplest kind of form may be used, and after the cement 
has set enough to retain its shape the form may be used 
again. The blocks, after hardening for forty-eight hours, 
should be stacked up and allowed to ripen for a while 
before being used. These stones or blocks are set about 
flush with the grass, which may grow slightly over the edges. 
They look well, furnish a good footing, and the lawn mower 
will pass over them. 

For short walks bricks, preferably set on edge, may be 
used with very satisfactory results. Have the surface upon 



98 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

which you lay them loosened so that they can be pounded 
down into it with a wooden mallet. 

The construction of roads is a more difficult task and one 
that must be thoroughly done. An ordinary dirt road, 
unless it is naturally high and dry, should be drained, pref- 
erably under ground along one or both curves. Under 
ordinary conditions common drain tile may be put in and 
will give satisfactory results. The surfaces of all roads, and 
walks, too, should be slightly convex so that rain will run 
off rapidly to one side. Roads or gutters on steep grades 
or on Hght soils that are likely to wash badly should be 
protected by cobbKng. 

Sodding a Steep Slope 

Steep slopes, especially near the house, should be graded 
and kept in a good firm sod if there is any tendency to wash. 
Terraces are frequently used, but banks graded to even 
curves usually look better and are much easier to care for. 
Steep slopes are often difficult to seed in the ordinary way 
because every rain or wind may do considerable damage 
before a sod is formed. In such cases sodding or turfing 
must be resorted to. Sometimes a combination of sodding 
and seeding may be used. This is accomplished by laying 
the sod in strips crossing at right angles, and heavily seeding 
the intervening spaces. In using this method it is essential 
to keep the ground from drying out until the sod becomes 
established. For very steep grades and banks where sod 
put on in the usual way will not stick, start at the bottom 
of the bank and lay the sod in tiers, with the edge of each 
tier two inches or so back of the edge of the tier below it. 
Beat the surface as smooth as possible with a spade as soon 
as the sod is in place, and keep well watered until a new 
surface is formed. 

First Work with the Lawn 

Early in the spring the lawn should be given a thorough 
cleaning to remove the winter mulch, if any was used, and 



APRIL: THIRD WEEK 99 

other rubbish that may have accumulated. Then look it 
over carefully to see how much repairing is needed. If it 
is in fairly good condition about all the care required will 
be a thorough raking with an iron rake, loosening the soil 
as much as possible without tearing up any grass roots; 
sowing seed in spots that may look thin; applying a top- 
dressing of bone meal and wood ashes; and giving a thorough 
rolHng with a heavy hand roller, or in a small plot a thorough 
firming with a hand tamp or the back of a spade. 

The lawn that is beginning to wear out will need more 
attention. If it is very far gone the easiest and best thing to 
do is to plow or spade it up, working under a good coating 
of manure. Make the surface smooth and level and as fine 
as possible, and sow seed. Use bone meal on the surface. 

A lawn that is bad only in spots may be put into condi- 
tion by forking it up where the sod is poorest and adding 
new soil where it may seem necessary. Use on the surface 
bone meal or pulverized sheep manure mixed with the seed, 
as it is essential that the tiny grass plants have some rich 
food to fix upon as soon as they begin to grow. 

Much of your success in- making or remaking the lawn 
will depend upon the quality of grass seed you get. Good 
seed should weigh twenty pounds or more to the bushel. 
Buy only from a thoroughly rehable source, as weight alone 
is not a guarantee that the mixture contains the right grasses 
in the right proportions for lawn purposes. For shady 
positions a mixture adapted to such conditions must be 
obtained, for even good seed of an ordinary lawn mixture 
will give practically no results in a shady place. 

A quart of good seed will cover about 300 square feet. 
In remaking old sod use only about half as much. Select 
a quiet day, preferably just before or just after a rain, and 
sow as evenly as possible. Going over the ground twice, 
in opposite directions, using half the seed each way, will 
do much toward insuring even distribution. Carry the seed 
in a box or a pail, not a bag, so that you can get at it readily, 
and sow it in small handfuls, being careful to take out just 
about the same amount each time. 



lOO AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

One of the most important points in keeping the lawn 
looking well is to cut out all weeds and wild grasses. An 
asparagus knife makes a good implement for this purpose; 
a regular weed knife or spud may be had at a reasonable 
price. For the small lawn an old kitchen knife will do. But 
cut deep, and above all never let weeds or undesirable 
grasses go to seed. Some of the worst, such as crab grass, 
are annuals, which can soon be bested if they are never 
allowed to seed. 

The frequent use of a roller is one of the most effective 
means of getting and keeping a first-class lawn. Mow 
frequently, but not too close. Have neat, well kept edges; 
an edger, which may be bought for fifty or seventy-five 
cents, and a good sharp hoe are the only tools necessary. 
In trimming edges a mistake very commonly made is to go 
back too far into the sod, leaving a little bank of dirt several 
inches high. This dries up very quickly and is easily broken 
down by every wheel or shoe that touches it. Keep your 
roads and paths as narrow as possible. They will look 
better and will be much freer from weeds or grass. 

Propagating Cane and Bush Fruits 

The cane fruits, such as raspberries and blackberries, 
often increase themselves both by the rooting of the tips 
of canes where they touch the ground and by increasing 
at the roots. Consequently in an old bed enough strong 
young plants may be found to make a new planting in the 
spring. Or the tips may be bent down to form new plants, 
being held in place by pegs or stones and covered with 
soil. Many other things, such as currants, gooseberries 
and grapes, may be layered in much the same way. Hard- 
wood cuttings of many of the ornamental shrubs that were 
made last fall, and have been wintered in the cellar or out- 
doors under a mulch, should be planted in an upright posi- 
tion in a long, narrow trench or furrow where drainage is 
perfect. It is a good plan to add some sand to the soil. 
Put the heel or larger end down. Such cuttings are some- 



APRIL: THIRD WEEK loi 

times buried for the winter with the big end up to induce 
callusing. Two or three buds or eyes should be left above 
ground. Stir the soil about the cuttings occasionally, to 
prevent the formation of a crust. As dry weather comes on 
they should be watered once in a while. When well rooted 
they may be transplanted to other rows or into pots, or 
may be left to make a season's growth before being set in 
permanent places. Plenty of room should be allowed, as 
some of the more rapid-growing kinds make a surprising 
growth during the first season. 



April : Fourth Week 

KEEPING UP WITH GARDEN SCHEDULE; HARD- 
ENING OFF PLANTS; TENDER PLANTS IN 
PAPER POTS 

After all the early crops are in, the gardener sometimes 
waits longer than he should before putting in the first of 
the tender crops and succession plantings of such of the 
early hardy crops as may be required. The tender crops 
to be grown from seed — beans, corn, cucumbers, melons, 
squash and pumpkins — should be timed to come up as 
soon as all danger of late frost has passed. This date 
cannot be fixed exactly, but it will pay to take a chance on 
the first planting. If the ground has warmed up enough to 
insure germination put in a row or two, or a few hills, a week 
or so before you feel quite sure that the season has settled. 
Jack Frost may get them, but what of it? The seeds are 
cheap, and the gardener who will not risk five or ten cents' 
worth of cucumber seed or sweet corn fails to appreciate the 
gentle excitement of the gardening game. 

Nature's seasonal reminder for the planting of the tender 
crops is when the apple trees come into bloom, or when the 
temperature averages fifty-five to sixty degrees in the 
shade — from the first of May to the first of June, according 
to latitude and season. The vegetables to be included in the 
setting out of these groups are beans, corn, cucumbers, 
eggplants, peppers, muskmelons, okra, squash, tomatoes 
and watermelons. Also at this season should be made 
succession plantings and sowings, for transplanting later, 
of beets, cabbages, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, peas, rad- 
ishes and turnips. The second plantings of these things, 
which are for summer and early fall use, should be com- 

I02 



APRIL: FOURTH WEEK 



103 



paratively small. Crops for the winter supply should 
be put in as late as possible, but be sure they will have time 
to get their full growth. Fruits and vegetables that have not 
quite reached full maturity keep longer and better in storage 
than those that have made full growth. Data as to depth, 
distance apart, and so forth, will be found in the table. 



VEGETABLES 


SEEDS OR 

PLANTS FOR 

50 FEET OF 

ROW 


DEPTH, 
INCHES 


APART 
IN ROWS, 
INCHES 


ROWS 
APART, 
INCHES 


Beans, early 

Beans, wax 

Beans, lima 

Beans, pole 

Beans, pole lima .... 
Beets 


I pint 
I pint 
I pint 

yi pint 

yi pint 
I ounce 
. 35 

35 

25-35 

K ounce 

25 

% pint 
K pint 
yi ounce 

25 

yi ounce 

yi ounce 

I pint 

25 

yi ounce 
yi ounce 
yi ounce 
yi ounce 
15-20 
yi ounce 
yi ounce 


1-2 
1-2 
1-2 
1-2 
1-2 
1-2 

2 

I 

3-4 
I 

I 

yi-i 


3-4 
3-4 

4-6 

48 
48 

4-6 
24-36 
18 
18 

2-4 

24 

36 
48 
48 

24 

8-12 

48-72 
36-48 
24 
72-96 

2-3 
36-72 
72-96 
36-48 
48-72 

72-96 


18 

15-24 
18-24 

48 

48-60 

12-15 

24-36 

24 

24-36 

12-15 

24-36 

36-48 

48 

48 

30 

12-15 

48-72 

36-48 

30 

72-96 

12 

48-72 

72-96 

48-60 

IS 

72-96 


Broccoli 

Brussels sprouts. . . . 

Cabbage, late 

Carrots 

Cauliflower 

Com, early 

Com, main crop .... 

Cucumbers 

Eggplants 


Lettuce 


Muskmelons 

Peas, late 

Peppers 


Pumpkins 


Radishes 

Squash, summer. . . . 

Squash, winter 

Tomatoes 

Turnips 


Watermelons 



Hardening Of 

It is important that extra early plantings of both plants 
and seeds be made in a sheltered place — the sunny side of a 
six-foot board fence, or under the wing of a building. Also 
it is important to have the plants thoroughly hardened off. 



104 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Plants taken directly from the greenhouse or hot-bed, where 
they have been making rapid, watery growth, will succumb 
to a low temperature much more quickly than those that 
have been toughened to exposure to the air and low tem- 
peratures. This is no less true of the tender things like 
tomatoes and egg-plants, than of the hardy crops such as 
cabbage, lettuce and beets, which were set out last month. 
It often happens that between the end of April and the 
middle of May, after a comparatively warm spell, a frosty 
night comes along. Several expedients that may be fallen 
back upon in such an emergency, and a few minutes' work, 
will often suffice to save the early plantings of wrinkled 
peas, potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers and egg- 
plants. The things in rows, like potatoes and beans, may 
be covered with dirt for protection. This may be done with 
a double-wheel hoe, the hilling attachment being set with 
the points out so that a A -shaped ridge is formed over the 
row. To protect larger plants, newspapers, either laid 
across or twisted up into cornucopias and held in place by 
a few handfuls of earth, will be found very effective. Empty 
tin cans or flower pots may be used to cover small plants. 
A quickly constructed shelter for a batch of plants may be 
made of a few boards or poles rested on boxes or barrels, 
with heavy bags or blankets thrown over them. Any plants 
that get nipped should be kept shaded from the sun the 
following morning and thoroughly doused with cold water. 
If irrigation is available spray the plants for an hour or so 
before the sun hits them in the morning. 

Planting in Dry Weather 

It sometimes happens that dry weather sets in after the 
early planting has been done and the surface of the soil, at 
least, is quite dried out by the time it is safe to put in the 
tender crops. Sometimes it is so dry that every precaution 
possible must be taken in order to secure a full stand from 
either seeds or plants. Then the gardener who has pre- 
pared his plot thoroughly and has kept it harrowed or 
raked over whenever a crust formed, will find his trouble 



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Plate g. — No tool in the modern garden is so continually in use as the combination seed 
drill and wheel hoe. — one of the standard types of which is shown here. With only a few minutes' 
work, the seeding attachment may be removed and the wheel hoe frame and equipment attached. 




Plate g. — Melons, cucumbers, squash, lima beans, etc., may easily be started in paper pots or 
dirt bands, without transplanting, for setting out in the garden as soon as the weather permits. 

Tomato plants, — and also pepper and egg plants — are stronger and will begin growth quicker, 
if "pot grown," like those in the right hand corner above — the roots are not disturbed when you 
set them out. 

In transplanting, especially in dry weather, the larger leaves should be cut back to prevent 
wilting. In taking the plants from the flats or frames secure a good ball of earth with each. Plants 
properly prepared are shown in the lower photo. 




Plate io. — A good compressed air sprayer is one of the most essential imple- 
ments for the small place. The type shown here is easy to move about and 
capable of taking care of everything from the rose garden to the full sized fruit 
trees and also for spraying the hen house, applying white wash and so forth. 

The great secret of success in spraying, is to be ready to do the work at once, 
at the first sign of insects or disease. Keep on hand an assortment containing 
the things you are likely to need ready for immediate use. 



APRIL: FOURTH WEEK 105 

amply repaid : beneath the dry surface the soil will be moist 
and mellow. 

Six weeks ago the best conditions for germination were 
found near the surface; now they are likely to be found as 
deep as you can get without covering the seeds so they can- 
not push through. Plant them deep in the moist soil, and 
if the weather is dry make the soil firm about the seeds. 
This may be done by pressing them down into the drill with 
the ball of the foot, or you may run the wheelbarrow lightly 
along the row. For very small seeds it is important to have 
the surface of the ground rolled down hard, so the capillary 
action will be stimulated instead of retarded, and the mois- 
ture will be drawn up from the lower part of the soil to keep 
the surface moist until the seed has germinated. As soon 
as possible after germination starts a surface dust mulch 
should be reestablished. 

In summer transplanting ever}^ possible precaution must 
be taken to keep the plants from wilting. As the roots of the 
plants are some distance below the surface, it is not neces- 
sary or even desirable to keep the surface moist; the more 
thoroughly the dust mulch can be established round the 
plants the better for them. The soil that comes into direct 
contact with the roots should be moist; if necessary pour a 
little water into the bottom of each hole before setting the 
plants. Plants that are in flats or in pots, or in the soil of 
the seed bed, should be watered thoroughly some hours 
before transplanting. The large outside leaves should be 
cut back a third to a half — this substantially checks the 
evaporation that causes the plant to go down. The plants 
should be set into the soil very firmly. 

In the home garden it is generally possible to shade the 
individual plants ; this may be done by the same method as 
already described for keeping off frost. For such things as 
celery or lettuce set in a continuous row, a wide board may 
be set on edge along the row. Transplanting should be done 
late in the afternoon or during cloudy or wet weather, and 
watering should be done with hose or watering can late in 
the afternoon. 



lo6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Start Tender Things in Paper Pots 

If you have a cold-frame or a hot-bed by far the surest 
and in the end the easiest way to start all the vine crops — 
cuciunbers, melons, squashes — and also pole beans and lima 
beans, and even extra early sweet corn, is to make use of 
paper pots or dirt bands, which are very cheap. Fill these 
with a rich compost containing plenty of humus — one-third 
old crumbly manure and two-thirds garden loan, with a 
little sand if the loam is heavy. Plant about twice as many 
seeds as you want plants, and thin them as soon as they are 
well started. It is best to water thoroughly some hours be- 
fore planting. The pots used for lima beans should be 
watered at least a day in advance and the beans should be 
pushed in eye down. No more water should be applied until 
they are well up, or they will be almost sure to rot. All 
these things will sprout and grow with great rapidity in the 
frame. Two to four weeks is ample time to give them, as 
they do not transplant well if allowed to get too big. Thin 
out the plants in each pot to the munber you want before 
they get too large, or the roots and tops will begin to crowd 
each other. 

Here are a few suggestions for individual crops: 

Beans. For the first planting use the lightest, best- 
drained soil. If the weather is still a little wet and cold 
plant rather shallow — only an inch or so deep. In dry 
weather plant about two inches deep. Always plant 
lima beans, either pole or bush, eye down, and when there 
is no immediate prospect of rain. Plant the pole sorts in 
hills. 

Corn. In the home garden there is little advantage in 
planting in hills, unless the ground is weedy or heavy. As 
good results may be had by planting thinly in a continuous 
drill, thinning the plants to about a foot apart in the row. 
This gives the individual plants a better chance for develop- 
ment than they get when they are bunched three or four in a 
hill. 

Eggplants. Do not set out until all danger of frost is 



APRIL: FOURTH WEEK 107 

past. Keep well protected from potato bugs. Give plenty 
of rich compost in the hills. 

Okra. Start under glass; or plant in rich soil in hills and 
thin to a single plant. 

Peppers. Do not plant until thoroughly warm weather 
is established and then put them in the sunniest position 
available. Enrich the hills well, but avoid green manure. 
Early varieties are the safest in northern sections. 

Tomatoes. Get your plants as big and as strong as 
possible by shifting to paper pots during the last three 
weeks before setting out, so that they may have blossoms 
or even small fruits before they go into the garden. As 
soon as they are set out, stake them to prevent whipping by 
the wind. Keep trained up from the beginning and cut 
off most of the side suckers as soon as they form. 



April: Fifth Week 

SPRING AND SUMMER SPRAYING FOR FRUIT; 
STARTING THE VINE CROPS RIGHT 

The day passed long ago when spraying was either an 
experiment or a hobby in the home garden. There is no 
reason for the feeHng that spraying is a compHcated busi- 
ness, requiring expert knowledge and much money. By 
modern methods the work is simple, easy and efficient — 
particularly in the home garden, for which small amounts 
of spray materials may be bought in the most convenient 
forms. There is no reason why one should not make his 
own stock solutions of Bordeaux mixture and kerosene 
emulsion; but the market carries satisfactory substitutes 
that require only mixing with water. 

Within the last few years dry dusting has been making 
progress, and it is very convenient for small-scale opera- 
tions. Various preparations are being improved, but some 
have proved either inefficient or injurious and you will be 
very well paid for the time and trouble you may take in 
dropping a line to your state experiment station for an 
expert opinion about any preparation that you may be 
thinking of using. 

There is no use in doing a halfway job of spraying. In- 
sects multiply so rapidly that unless you get practically 
all of them your time will be absolutely wasted. Success- 
ful spraying depends upon accuracy and completeness along 
three lines: First, using the special spray adapted to the 
purpose in hand; second, applying ic at the proper time, 
neither too early nor too late; and third, doing a thorough 
job. It is necessary to cover every square inch — branch, 
twig and leaf, upper and under surfaces — in order to get 
satisfactory results. 

io8 



APRIL: FIFTH WEEK I09 

As the same fruit or vegetable is often attacked by a 
number of different things several sprayings may be neces- 
sary. Often a combined spray may be used. But do not 
wait until you need to spray before getting your things. 
Have them on hand early and ready to use as soon as con- 
ditions are right. 

The insects that attack fruit and ornamental trees differ 
not only in size and shape but also in their manner of ex- 
tracting a living. Some of them chew; others suck the 
juices from below the outer surface of leaf or bark. Poisons 
will end the chewers, but the suckers must be killed by 
suffocation or external injury. Remedies that may be used 
successfully in the winter are sometimes too strong for use 
in summer, when the trees are in leaf or in fruit. So a 
number of different things must be employed to get the 
better of all the insect enemies and the various forms of 
disease with which every gardener, no matter now large or 
how small his place, has to contend. During the season 
you are pretty sure to need practically all of the following, 
and it will save time to have them on hand. 

The Sprays You Need 

Bordeaux Mixture. This is the standard preventive 
against blights and fungous diseases. It may be bought in 
commercial forms, or a stock solution may be made at home 
without much trouble. It is frequently used in combina- 
tion with arsenate of lead and sometimes with Paris green, 
thus being effective against both diseases and chewing 
insects. Make a stock solution at least half a day before it 
is to be used. The method follows: 

Dissolve copper-sulphate crystals in water at the rate of 
one pound to one gallon. In another receptacle slake lime 
to the same amount, adding the water a little at a time 
until the solution is of the consistency of thick milk. To 
make ten gallons of spray dilute one gallon of the stock 
copper-sulphate solution, straining it carefully; then dilute 
one gallon of the stock lime solution, also straining it care- 



no AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

fully, and mix the two in the tank. To make a small amount 
of the mixture use one tablespoonful of the copper sulphate, 
one and a half tablespoonfuls of lime and one gallon of 
water. From time to time add water to the stock lime 
solution to keep the lime at the bottom covered. 

Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. For some uses Bor- 
deaux is objectionable, as it marks the foliage and fruit. 
As a substitute under these conditions, an ammoniacal 
copper carbonate spray may be used. Dilute three pints 
of ammonia in seven to eight parts of water. Make a paste 
by mixing six ounces of copper carbonate with water. Mix 
the two until well dissolved ; then stir well into fifty gallons 
of water. For small amounts, use two teaspoonfuls of 
copper carbonate, two fluid ounces of ammonia and two 
gallons of water. This spray cannot be kept and must be 
used soon after mixing. 

Kerosene Emulsion. This is an effective and safe spray 
to use for sucking insects, San Jose scale, plant lice, mealy 
bugs, and so forth. It may be bought in commercial form. 
To make at home, dissolve a half pound of soap in one 
quart of water. Add one gallon of water and two gallons 
of kerosene. Place in a pail or crock and churn or pump 
with a force pump until a thick, lathery cream is formed. 
For small amounts use two cubic inches of soap, one pint 
of water and one quart of kerosene. For use in spraying 
dilute the stock solution with five to fifteen times as much 
water. For dormant growth use five to seven parts water; 
for ordinary purposes ten parts water; for a comparatively 
weak spray fifteen parts water. 

None of the other sprays to be used can be mixed on a 
small scale at home to any advantage. There are good 
commercial preparations of lime-sulphur and nicotine, 
ready for use upon the addition of water. Arsenate of 
lead and Paris green, for poisoning chewing insects, are too 
well known to need description. The former is the best to 
use in most work, as it sticks and may be used without 
danger of burning the foliage. 



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112 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The type of spraying machine to buy depends upon the 
amount and kind of spraying to be done. For the very 
small garden there is a little brass hand pump that does 
practical work. With a suitable nozzle, a bucket pump 
may be used in the small home garden. For the average 
garden a compressed-air sprayer will be found most con- 
venient. The knapsack type is preferred by some; but the 
air-tank type has the advantage of leaving both hands free. 

Do the Work on a Warm Day 

When many trees have to be taken care of a barrel 
sprayer is the one to get, if horse and wagon are available. 
Otherwise a hand sprayer of the new wheelbarrow type, 
which has large capacity and can be moved easily from 
place to place, will be found the thing. You should have 
two or three types of nozzles for the different kinds of 
spraying you will have to do, and an extension pole of 
suitable length for the fruit trees. 

A few points about spraying must be kept in mind: Be 
sure that you have the spray adapted to the particular 
thing you are trying to fight; be sure that the material is 
right for the conditions you have to meet — kerosene emul- 
sion or Hme-sulphur that would be right to use in winter 
might be strong enough to ruin your trees in summer. If 
possible do the work on a fairly warm day, when little or 
no wind is blowing, though you must not delay the spray- 
ing to be given just before the blossoms open and just 
after they fall. Spraying when the blossoms are open is 
usually undesirable. There are a few days after the petals 
fall before the calyx of the forming fruit closes; to be effect- 
ive, spraying must be done while the material has access 
to the inner part of the calyx, and while the forming fruits 
are still turned upward. If the calyx has begun to close, 
the eggs or young worms, especially of the codling moth, 
will be protected from the spray. Sprays like Bordeaux 
mixture are efficient only when all fohage and stems are 
kept coated with the mixture; therefore it must be applied 



APRIL: FIFTH WEEK 113 

often enough to take care of new growth as soon as it is 
made. 

The more common and most injurious of orchard and 
fruit-garden troubles may be identified as follows: 

Apple Scab. Dark-green, round, furry spots on the 
young fruit; worse in cold, rainy seasons. Use Bordeaux 
mixture or summer lime-sulphur, in spring or summer. 

Blister Mite. A spider-like insect causing on the leaves 
light-green blisters that turn to red or brown; leaves finally 
drop. Use strong lime-sulphur, miscible oil or kerosene 
emulsion in early spring. 

Bud Moth. A light-brown caterpillar about quarter of 
an inch long, with dark head and legs. Use arsenate of 
lead or Paris green as buds open. 

Tent Caterpillar. Hatches in early spring and grows 
rapidly, forming tents or nests in the crotches of trees. 
Wipe out or burn nests. Use arsenate of lead or Paris green 
in early sprays. 

Cankerworm. An "inch- worm" that attacks apple 
trees. Appears in May and June. Use arsenate of lead or 
Paris green and put bands round the trunks of the trees in 
April or May. 

Codling Moth. A small, dull-brown, night-flying moth; 
the parent of common apple worms. Except in the north- 
ern sections there are two broods. Use arsenate of lead in 
three appHcations and apply tree bands in July. 

CuRCULio. A small, gray-mottled, shelled beetle with 
four distinct humps on its back. Attacks practically all 
orchard trees, drilHng holes in newly formed fruits in which 
the eggs are laid. Arsenate of lead spraying is partly suc- 
cessful; or the beetles may be shaken down in the morning. 
A weaker spray must be used on peaches or plums. Lime- 
sulphur acts as a repellent. 

Currant Worm. A small, green, greedy worm that at- 
tacks gooseberries and currants. Usually appears first on 
lower leaves. Arsenate of lead or Paris green will kill 
early broods; use hellebore for later ones. 

Elm-Leaf Beetle. A dull-yellow beetle about three- 



114 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

eighths of an inch long, with a black stripe on each wing. 
The old beetles feed on young leaves, eating small irregular 
holes. In May and June they lay eggs which hatch into 
larvae that do the real damage, making the leaves turn 
brown so the tree looks as if it had been burned. The 
larvas pupate in the ground in July, and in a few weeks 
hatch into a second crop of beetles. Spray thoroughly 
with arsenate of lead when the leaves are well out, and 
again as the eggs hatch, using one and a half to two pounds 
to fifty gallons of water. 

Leaf Hopper. A blunt-headed, long, yellowish, hopping 
beetle that lives by sucking. It works on the under side of 
the leaves, causing them to wither and dry up. Use kero- 
sene emulsion on the first appearance of the pest. 

San Jose Scale. The most destructive of all the scales, 
attacking practically all fruits. The individuals are very 
small, but they form colonies which give a scurfy ash-gray 
appearance to the bark. On the fruit a small red circle 
surrounding the scale is very perceptible. Dormant or 
winter sprays are the most effective. Lime-sulphur in 
early spring will help. 

Oyster-Shell Scale. This is larger but not so serious 
in effect as the San Jose. The young hatch out in May, 
and spray should be applied as soon afterward as possible, 
as they are for a time unprotected by the scale. Look for 
yellowish lice-like insects that are quite active for a short 
while after hatching and then attach themselves to one 
place. Spray also as for San Jose. 

Black Rot. This appears as a black or brown decay, 
starting in a small spot and rapidly spreading until the fruit 
becomes mummified. Spray grapes with Bordeaux mix- 
ture until the middle of July, then with ammoniacal copper 
carbonate solution. If you have only a few vines protect 
each bunch of fruit with a manila bag. For plum, peach 
and cherry trees use Bordeaux mixture or summer lime- 
sulphur. Thin out any fruits that may touch. 

Leaf Blight. This attacks the newly forming leaves of 
peach trees early in summer, causing them to shrivel and 



APRIL: FIFTH WEEK I15 

color and drop prematurely, even during June and July. 
Use of lime-sulphur before the buds swell is effective. After 
the leaves are out care must be taken not to get the spray 
too strong. 

Mildew. For most forms in the fruit and vegetable 
gardens Bordeaux mixture is effective. For gooseberries 
potassium-sulphide spray is better. 

Rust. This attacks various things, assuming several 
forms and causing a burned or blighted appearance of the 
foHage. Use Bordeaux mixture, lime-sulphur, or am- 
moniacal copper carbonate solution. 

Start the Vine Crops Right 

The vine crops — cucumbers, squash, etc. — should all be 
planted in specially prepared hills, whether seeds or plants 
are used. These hills should be prepared as follows: Mark 
out rows, four to eight feet apart each way, according to 
the crop and variety to be grown, and with a hoe scrape 
out hills four to six inches deep and eighteen inches or so 
across. Into each hill put a forkful or two of thoroughly 
rotted manure or compost, mixing it well with the soil. If 
no manure is available a mixture of tankage or guano, bone 
dust and cottonseed meal may be used, two or three hand- 
fuls being well mixed with the soil. The hills should be 
made deeper where manure is to be used. Then fill in with 
good soil until the hill is as high as, or, if the soil is wet, 
slightly higher than, the soil level, but flat on top. 

Plant twelve to twenty seeds of cucumbers or musk- 
melons, eight to twelve seeds of watermelons or summer 
squash, and six to eight seeds of winter squash or pumpkin. 

In setting out any of the vine plants from pots, even when 
they have been carefully grown in dirt bands, the job must 
be managed carefully or they will wilt badly. Use plenty 
of water, and shade for a day or two. A supply of tobacco 
dust should be kept on hand, so that the ground may be 
sprinkled as soon as the plants begin to push through, and 
this should be used freely from then on as a preventive for 
striped beetle and other enemies. 



May : First Week 

CARE OF ASPARAGUS; RHUBARB; SEA KALE; THE 
CANE FRUITS; GRAPES; THE NEW STRAW- 
BERRY BED; FALL FRUITING STRAWBERRIES 

Most gardeners find it more interesting to plant a new 
crop, or start a new bed of perennial things, than to take 
care of the old plants. But it is by no means more impor- 
tant. A full share of spring attention should be given to the 
permanent crops — asparagus, rhubarb, sea kale, straw- 
berries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries and 
grapes. All these crops must be grown a year ahead. To 
put it another way, the amount and quality of the crop you 
get this year depend more upon the way you took care of the 
plants last season than upon anything you can do now. 
By the same token, if you want a good crop next year you 
will have to prepare for it this season. This does not mean, 
however, that you can neglect the plants this spring. 

A well-made and well-cared-for asparagus bed should 
last fifteen years; many beds still giving good yields have 
been cut for thirty years. But these have not been neg- 
lected. If a bed is once allowed to run down it will very 
quickly run out entirely. Work should be begun early in 
spring. If the bed was mulched last fall the manure should 
be worked into the soil as soon as possible, especially be- 
tween the rows. A mistake commonly made in taking care 
of asparagus beds is to sow manure or fertilizer directly 
along the row, thus inducing the roots to grow near the sur- 
face, which is just the thing that is not wanted. If the 
bed was properly planted the crowns should be from four 
to six inches below the top, so the whole bed, rows and all, 
can be worked over with the wheel hoe or cultivator. In the 
home garden it is an easy matter to cultivate deeply between 

ii6 



MAY: FIRST WEEK 117 

the rows, and shallow enough in the rows so that you will 
not dig into the crowns or break many of the large fleshy 
roots. But go over the entire surface. If you like your 
asparagus blanched white a ridge may be thrown up along 
each row at this time, to be worked down later when you 
have stopped cutting. 

Even among authorities there is some difference of opinion 
as to the best time to apply manure and fertiUzer to the 
asparagus crop. But all are agreed that a great deal should 
be used, and that there is practically no danger of the home 
gardener's getting on too much. Commercial growers some- 
times use as much as three tons of f ertihzer to the acre, which 
would be sixty to seventy pounds for a ten-by-fifty-foot plot. 
When a good dressing of manure is used it is not necessary to 
use so much fertilizer. A high-grade complete fertilizer, 
with an analysis of 4-8-10, will answer. About a third of 
the fertilizer and manure should be applied when the bed 
is worked over in the spring. As soon as the shoots start 
give a top dressing of nitrate of soda — two to four pounds to 
a ten-by-fifty-foot bed — and repeat this two or three times 
during the cutting season. 

Not the least of the things to know about asparagus 
growing is proper harvesting. There is always a great 
temptation, especially during the first two or three seasons, 
for the gardener to keep on cutting longer than he should. 
Even when the bed is well estabhshed the cutting season 
should not extend more than six to eight weeks, and half 
that time is plenty for the first two or three seasons. 

Cut Regularly During the Season 

In cutting care should be taken to insert the knife as per- 
pendicularly as possible until the desired depth is reached. 
If the knife is thrust in diagonally some distance from the 
stalk you run the chance of cutting off the tips of other 
sprouts that are just starting below the surface. A mistake 
commonly made in the home garden is to let the stalks go 
for two or three days if they are not needed for immediate 



Il8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

use, with the result that they are not only wasted but also 
use up the energies of the plant. Cut all stalks as soon as 
they are large enough. If you stand them in a cool place, 
with the butt ends in cold water, they will keep plump 
and fresh for several days. During the cutting season, 
which usually lasts into June, the bed should be worked 
over occasionally to keep all weeds out and to preserve a 
dust mulch. Sometimes a few spears are allowed to grow 
to serve as traps for the asparagus beetle, which in some 
sections is very troublesome. 

As soon as the cutting season is over, the balance of the 
manure and fertilizer should be worked in and the last dress- 
ing of nitrate of soda should be given. Cutting should 
always be stopped if the shoots appear to be getting tough. 
The tops should be cultivated and looked after as carefully 
as if they were to be eaten, for their function is to store up 
in the crown material for the next spring's supply of shoots. 
The asparagus beetle may be controlled by spraying with 
arsenate of lead. In a well-tended bed asparagus rust is 
seldom troublesome. If it does appear mow the old bed 
carefully, after the tops have turned brown but before they 
become brittle, and burn them carefully. When the plants 
are given plenty of moisture rust seldom appears. The beds 
may be mulched or not in the fall, but do not put on fer- 
tilizer at that time. 

Spring Work in the Berry Patch 

Whether the strawberry patch is a new one set out last 
month, or one that was set out last year and will come into 
bearing for the first time this June, or an older bed that you 
are trying to keep up as long as it will bear satisfactorily, it 
will need considerable attention if you are to get really good 
berries. 

The newly set bed should be kept well cultivated, so no 
weeds will have a chance to get a start. Plenty of moisture 
is required, so it is important that the soil mulch be kept up. 
The cultivation may be quite deep at first — three inches or 



MAY: FIRST WEEK 119 

so — but as the plants begin to make strong growth and fill 
the soil with roots only surface cultivation should be used. 
When a horse is available no tool is better than a twelve- 
tooth cultivator, with a leveler attachment in the rear; 
this leaves the surface almost as finely pulverized as if it 
were raked. When the hand wheel hoe is used, the wide 
hoes or sweeps, which cut all weeds off clean over a strip 
of considerable width, will be found very useful. If the 
plants have been set to grow by the hill system the greatest 
care must be taken to pinch off all runners as soon as they 
form. 

The very finest berries, and just as many of them, may 
be had by keeping the plants single and throwing the whole 
strength into individual crowns. But there is no use in 
attempting this method of culture unless you are willing to 
tackle the task of keeping the new runners pinched off. In 
the matted-row system, which is usually followed, the first 
runners from each plant are allowed to root, being spread so 
that the plants will be as equally spaced as possible. After 
that, the runners are kept cut or pinched off, so that an 
alley for cultivating and picking is maintained between 
each two rows. 

If your bed is coming into bearing for the first season push 
the mulch aside gradually when there is no longer danger 
from late frost, so that the plants and fruit stalks will grow 
up through the mulch, and the berries, when they become 
heavy enough, will lie upon it. Moving the mulch pre- 
maturely often results, if there is a late frost, in the loss of 
practically the whole crop. Any weeds that come up 
through the mulch should be removed by hand to prevent 
their going to seed. 

As soon as the plants are through bearing, the mulch 
should be removed and the bed should be given a thorough 
cleariing. It should be kept clean until the end of the season, 
if you hope to get a good second or third crop. Older beds 
are handled in much the same way. Sometimes it is feasible 
to cultivate out the centers and in this fresh soil root new 
plants from the old rows on either side. As soon as the new 



I20 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

plants are well established cultivate out the original rows 
and make them the centers. 



Fall-Fruiting Strawberries 

There are now several varieties of fall-fruiting or ever- 
bearing strawberries that are decidedly worth cultivating, so 
there should be a small patch of them in your garden. 
Plants set out this spring — it is not too late to set them now 
if you get at the job immediately — will bear this fall. They 
should be given ordinary methods of culture and any flower 
stalks that form up to the middle of July or first of August 
should be pinched out. Besides this fall's crop the plants 
will bear again next spring, and then fruit again in the fall, 
although of course to get the largest fall crop the plants 
should not be allowed to exhaust themselves by fruiting too 
heavily in the early summer. Progressive and Superb are 
the best varieties so far developed. 

The only disease likely to cause trouble with strawberries 
is rust or blight. It occurs first as spots on the leaves, which 
turn a reddish or brownish color and finally die. When there 
is reason to fear it spray four or five times during the first 
season with Bordeaux mixture; spray early in the spring of 
the second season just before the blossoms open, and again 
just after blossoming. Be careful to set out only clean, 
healthy plants. 

Rhubarb and Sea Kale 

The rhubarb patch should be cared for in much the same 
way as the asparagus bed. It will not pay to fertilize so 
heavily, but the few plants in the home garden are not Kkely 
to be harmed much. Early in spring work a dressing of 
manure into the patch and give it a generous dressing of 
nitrate of soda. The value of the manure comes largely in 
forming a moisture-saving mulch that will last until one is 
through pulling the stalks. The dressing of soda should be 
repeated two or three times to help produce stalks of the 



MAY: FIRST WEEK I2I 

largest size and best flavor. Break off any seed stalks that 
appear. Good culture during the latter part of the season, 
after you have stopped using the stalks, will tell in next 
year's crop. Fertilizer and manure may be applied during 
late June and the benefits will be very apparent the follow- 
ing spring. 

Sea kale is also grown in much the same way as asparagus. 
To be of good quality the shoots must be blanched by mak- 
ing a mound of sand or soil over each plant in the spring. 
This must be leveled when the plants are allowed to begin 
to grow. Fertilizer and cultivation should be given for the 
following spring. 

The Cane- and Bush-Fruits 

The beds of cane fruits should be gone over in the spring 
and all old canes removed if this was not done in the fall. 
Of the new canes only three or four should be left to each 
plant. These should be headed or cut back to induce the 
growth of the laterals, which bear the fruit, and to make the 
plants more self-supporting in case trelKses are not used. 
Supports are preferable. A good stout stake should be 
used as a support for each plant, and the canes should be 
tied loosely to this with some soft material. For long rows, 
a convenient method is to stretch two parallel wires a foot 
or so apart, and keep the growing canes between these. 

Cultivation should be frequent but very shallow, as these 
plants all root rather near the surface. They all require 
plenty of moisture, and manure is therefore especially 
valuable as a fertihzer. Bone meal is also excellent. The 
enemies of the cane fruits do not do serious injury. The 
most serious is rust or blight. All diseased plants should 
be carefully cut out and burned, and the rest of the plants 
sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. The borer, which gets 
into the canes and burrows up the center, is controlled by 
cutting out and burning the canes as soon as attacked. 
The borer is the larva of a small beetle, and is active in mid- 
siunmer. 



122 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Gooseberries and currants, to produce good crops, are 
insistent upon an adequate supply of moisture, and as soon 
as dry weather sets in they should be mulched. Both should 
be thinned out so that air and sunshine have free ad- 
mission, and traiUng branches should be cut off well above 
the ground. When they are allowed to make too much 
wood, and become brushy, good fruit cannot be expected. 

During the summer the new growth on currants should 
be gone over, and all except the few branches that will be 
wanted for fruiting in the future should be cut out. Those 
that are saved should be cut or pinched back slightly at the 
tips, which will check growth and cause them to ripen up 
better in the fall. Black currants are an exception, as their 
fruit is borne in part upon one-year-old wood. Powdery 
mildew, often a serious trouble to gooseberries, may be con- 
trolled by a spray of one ounce of potassium sulphide, or 
liver of sulphur, dissolved in two gallons of water. Use 
soon after mixing, and repeat every ten days. 

A Bag Over Each Bunch of Grapes 

The ground should be worked up lightly about the grape- 
vines and some manure or fertilizer worked in. Bone is 
especially good. A little later, after growth starts, all eyes 
or buds appearing below the laterals to be trained as per- 
manent fruiting canes should be rubbed off. To control 
black rot clean up the ground round the vines early in the 
spring and burn all the old pieces of bark, twigs and "mum- 
mied" fruit. A Manila bag fastened over each bunch of 
fruit will give protection. 





Plate II.— You must keep your bushes well pruned if you want good cur- 
rants and gooseberries. Don't make the common mistake of merely trimming 
back the whole plant like a hedge; thin it out back to the back base of the plant, 
leavmg only strong, new wood, and not too much of that 




Plate 12.— Don't trust to the general appearance of your plants to de- 
termine whether they are free from insect pests. Examine the under 
side of the leaves frequently and you may discover a condition like that 
in the picture above where the white fly has had a strong start with- 
out giving any indication of its presence to the casual observer. {Lower) 
A compressed air sprayer of the shoulder strap type like that shown 
herewith is most convenient and will take care of a large amount of 
spraying. Get an angle nozzle with your outfit. 



)1 



May : Second Week 

OWERS FOR THIS SUMMER'S BLOOM. PLANT- 
ING ROSES; BABY RAMBLERS; DAHLIAS; 
ASTERS 

Probably no job in the year's round of work gives results 

) certain, so immediate and so satisfactory as setting out 

-rrowing plants from pots for the summer's bloom. The 

rden that is bare, brown and barren in the morning may 

V the use of a few dozen geraniums and edging plants be 

^ -ansformed into a beautiful spot by afternoon. But the 

effects depend as much upon the way the plants are used 

as upon the money spent for them. Setting out a lot of 

autiful plants does not necessarily make a beautiful 

•arden. In nine cases out of ten the most pleasing effects 

e produced with the most simple use of materials— only 

iC or two colors in a bed and the, most simple and natural 

•rangement of the plants. 

In bu}dng plants it is best to make personal selection, 

" you have had enough experience to know just what kinds 

.f plants will give the best results. Most persons insist 

pon having plants that are in full bloom, and go upon the 

rinciple of " the bigger the better." For bedding purposes 

a plant well set with buds is much better than one in full 

r'oom, and so long as it is stocky, shapely and thrifty, size 

of secondary importance. 

On the other hand, the condition of the roots, which are 
seldom examined, is of the utmost importance. The roots 
should be in about the same condition as in the case of 
plants ready to repot— a good ball of active, Hght-colored 
roots. If the plants have recently been repotted, so the 
)0t balls have not formed, they will be checked consider- 
ably in being set out. If the plants are so old that the roots 

123 



124 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

have become stringy and tough they will never give so 
satisfactory results as actively growing young plants, al- 
though they may make several times as much show on the 
greenhouse bench. 

In getting your supply of the standard things try a plant 
or two of some of the newer varieties. A good plan is to get 
these in small sizes, as they are usually expensive, and grow 
them on in the pots, set into the ground throughout the 
summer. They will then be in fine condition to take into 
the house in the fall and will bloom all winter. 

Some Good Geraniums 

The geranium is still the leading bedding plant. One of 
the main reasons for its unceasing popularity is its health. 
But the spendid new varieties of this old favorite are not 
nearly so well known as they should be. Try a few of them 
this spring. If your local florist hasn't them in stock send 
for a few from some reliable seedsman. They will not only 
be a source of pleasure this summer, but if looked after 
with reasonable care will make ideal house plants next 
winter. 

Some of the best are Marquis Castellane, deep brick red; 
Berthe de Presilly, light pink; Dagata, extra large clusters of 
mauve rose; Mme. Recamier, one of the best of the pure 
whites; Mrs. E. G. Hill, salmon-colored single; Snowdrop, 
white single; Paul Crampell, single scarlet. S. A. Nutt, still 
the most popular, dark crimson bedder, and Beaute Poite- 
vine, deep salmon pink with enormous clusters, have re- 
tained their lead in their particular colors for more than a 
quarter of a century. 

Though the geranium will stand more neglect than most 
flowers, it will answer most readily to good care in the way 
of feeding and cultivation. The only thing to avoid is too 
much nitrogenous plant food, in the shape of manure that 
is not thoroughly decayed, or too much nitrate of soda. 
An overdose of either will cause too many leaves, with poor 
flowers. 



MAY: SECOND WEEK 125 

Set Out Potted Roses This Month 

Of all summer-blooming flowers the rose is still without a 
rival. Yet thousands of plants set out each year never give 
any return that is worth the original cost of the plant, to 
say nothing of the time and care spent on them. The rose 
is easy to grow, but it will not grow itself. Only a reason- 
able amount of care is necessary to get satisfactory results, 
but without this care there will be no results. 

This month is the best time to set out roses from pots. 
These potted plants give the most satisfactory results, and 
are being used more and more in place of dormant stock 
that has to be set early in the spring. From plants set out 
in May you may get roses in June — if the plants are good 
and of the right size, and if you give them congenial con- 
ditions and protect them from insects. 

Of course you must exercise care in buying loses. Prices 
vary greatly, but you cannot afford the risk of being guided 
by price alone. Be sure, first of all, that you deal with 
houses of good reputation; then carefully compare the de- 
scriptions — size of the pots, age, and so forth — before de- 
ciding where you will be likely to get the most for your 
money. A dozen good plants will give much more satis- 
faction than three dozen poor ones. Do not lose sight of 
this fact if tempted by low prices. On the other hand, you 
can save money by not confining your order to the newest 
varieties. Some of the comparatively old sorts, such as 
Frau Karl Druschki, a pure white rose that for garden 
use is still unsurpassed; General Jacqueminot, crimson; 
Magna Charta, clear dark pink; and Eleric Brunner, bright 
red, are as good for the beginner as any of the newer varie- 
ties. 

All those named belong to the class of hybrid-perpetual 
roses, which are the hardiest and the surest to give results 
in the outdoor garden. They bloom only once in the season, 
with possibly a few scattering blooms in the fall. The 
hybrid teas are a cross between the hybrid perpetuals and 
the tender teas, and bloom abundantly in June and more 



126 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

or less throughout the summer. They are known as 
''monthly roses." In the Northern States they must be 
given protection. 

Among the popular hybrid teas are General McArthur, 
a vivid scarlet; La France, satiny pink; Kaiserin Augusta 
Victoria, white, tinted with lemon; Killarney, brilliant 
pink; Lion, deep coral pink; Chateau de Clos-Vougeot, 
rich scarlet and a steady bloomer. Roses grown in the 
standard or tree form are very effective. Hybrid per- 
petuals are the most satisfactory for this purpose. 

The tea roses, while deliciously fragrant, are not so hardy 
as the hybrid teas and have been to a large extent super- 
seded. A few of the beautiful sorts that are suited to 
garden culture are: Harry Kirk, yellow; Maman Cochet, 
deep rose pink; Souvenir de Pierre Netting, canary yellow; 
White Maman Cochet; WilHam R. Smith, pinkish white; 
and the new coppery yellow Lady Hillingdon, which is 
proving good for garden use. 

Dwarf Ramblers for Borders 

For bedding or low borders or where roses are wanted in 
combination with other flowers, the Polyantha and dwarf 
rambler roses are the best to use. They are the hardiest 
and the most steady flowering of all. Many of them are 
only eighteen to twenty-four inches high, and they require 
practically no pruning but the removal of old wood and old 
flower stems. They are good for use in pots as well as in 
the garden. 

When your rose plants for the new bed arrive unpack them 
carefully and examine the roots to see if they have become 
dry in transit. If so, water them carefully or set the balls 
into a shallow pan of water and let them absorb enough to 
get thoroughly moist again without getting muddy. If 
the plants cannot be set out immediately, keep them in 
some place where they will get plenty of air but will be 
protected from the wind and the full, strong sunlight. If 



MAY: SECOND WEEK 127 

they cannot be planted for some days make a shallow 
trench in a cold frame or in some protected spot deep enough 
to hold the balls of earth and cover them in firmly with soil. 

Hybrid perpetuals are usually planted twenty-four 
inches apart, and hybrid teas eighteen inches apart. In 
setting them out the top of the ball of earth should be set 
about two inches below the soil level. Be careful not to use 
commercial fertilizers directly in the hole. A little bone 
meal or ground bone may be mixed with the soil, although 
it is better to do this a week or so in advance. 

Without doubt the greatest cause of failure, when good 
plants are used, is careless planting. Three essentials to 
success are: Have the roots in proper condition, neither too 
wet nor too dry; set them out in moist soil — put water in 
the bottom of the hole before planting if the bed is very dry; 
and set the plants in firmly. Press down round each one 
with your full weight after planting. 

After planting, the only care necessary until blooming 
time is to keep the plants well cultivated and well sprayed. 
Every ten days or so use a combined fungicide and insecti- 
cide, such as Bordeaux and arsenate of lead, or some similar 
preparation that will not he so conspicuous on the foliage. 
This spray will usually prevent mildew or blight, and 
chewing insects. If the aphis puts in appearance spray with 
some form of tobacco extract or with kerosene emulsion, 
or use tobacco dust. 

Keep up with the Dahlias 

The dahlia is an old favorite, but one has to step Hvely 
to keep up with it. Few plants have been developed into 
so many new and really different varieties of merit during 
the last few years as have dahHas. To make an intelligent 
selection among the bewildering number of new sorts, 
first fix in mind the different types: The cactus-flowered 
section, which is the most popular, has long frilled or curved 
petals, which are much more graceful and airy than the 
older forms. The peony-flowered type is also open and 



128 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

graceful in appearance, but the petals are much wider than 
those of the cactus. The decorative dahhas are more stiff 
and regular in form, and come about halfway between the 
cactus and peony types; and the show dahlias, the older 
form, are so formal in appearance that they look like ar- 
tificial blooms. 

The pompons are beautiful Httle dahlias which are 
valuable for many purposes on account of their small size. 
The collarettes are distinct in appearance, the flowers 
being formed by a row of broad outer petals with an ir- 
regular collar of cactus-hke petals inside, round the heart of 
the flower, and usually of a contrasting color. Many of 
the singles are very beautiful and particularly valuable for 
cutting, or for use with other flowers in bouquets. 

Dahlias may be bought either started in pots or as dor- 
mant roots. The plants should not be set out until all danger 
of late frost is past. The bulbs may be planted two weeks 
or so earlier. Many persons make the mistake of planting 
the whole clump of roots that was saved from the year 
before. These clumps should always be divided, if the 
best flowers are wanted, even if you have to throw away 
three-quarters of the bulbs for lack of room. 

Keep a piece of the old stalk with each root planted to 
be sure that you have an eye with it. The root should be 
planted three or four inches deep and laid flat. A good 
plan is to fill in only part of the covering soil at first, filKng 
in the rest as the plant grows. For good flowers all the 
shoots except one or two should be pinched out as soon as 
they are well started; if this is done early it will induce the 
formation of strong side branches low down, lessening the 
danger of breaking later on. For extra large blossoms the 
plants should be kept well disbudded. 

Supports of some kind should be given early to guard 
against damage by heavy winds or rains, as the stems are 
rather brittle. The plants should be set several feet apart 
to insure plenty of room. Dahhas grow well in almost any 
soil provided plenty of plant food and water is given. They 
need an abundance of moisture, no matter how rich the soil 



MAY: SECOND WEEK 129 

may be. To keep up the quality of the blooms until the 
end of the season the plants should be fed after they have 
been in blossom for a while with additional dressings of bone 
dust and a little nitrate of soda. 



Buy Early and Late Asters 

The aster is another flower which if set out now will 
give an abundance of bloom throughout the latter part of 
the summer. In buying plants try to get both early and 
late blooming types. And get some plants of a named 
variety — they will be worth the extra price. Though 
asters will grow and bloom in poor soil, they will respond 
readily to good culture. For large blooms they should be 
kept disbudded and given plenty of plant food and water. 

Usually the only trouble in raising them is the aster 
beetle, which appears after the plants are well along. 
Heavy applications of tobacco dust will repel him if used 
in time, and if there are other plants in the vicinity. Arse- 
nate of lead, used extra strong, is effective; it is better to 
spoil such flowers as may be open than to risk losing the 
whole crop. Hand picking of the beetles is the surest and 
quickest method, and if there are not too many plants it is 
to be recommended. 



May: Third Week 

FERTILIZING, WEEDING AND THINNING IN THE 
VEGETABLE GARDEN; POINTS ON PICKING 

The importance of side-dressing and top-dressing growing 
crops in order to get big yields is not generally appreciated 
by the home gardener. Fortunately he needs no additional 
equipment for this work except an old pail and the knowl- 
edge of what to use and how to use it. 

Nitrogen is more Kkely to be deficient than any other 
plant food, particularly during the earlier stages of growth, 
while the stalks and leaves are being formed. The cheapest 
and most efficient form in which nitrogen can be supplied is 
by the use of nitrate of soda. This material looks and acts 
like coarse salt, but contains from fifteen to sixteen per 
cent of available nitrogen. The result of an application of 
this material under favorable circumstances is often dis- 
tinctly perceptible in twenty-four hours. It should be 
applied only in very small doses, otherwise the plants will 
not be able to make use of it fast enough to prevent waste. 

For most garden crops two to four applications at inter- 
vals of two weeks to a month, according to the condition of 
the crop and the length of time normally required for it to 
mature, should be made. For fruit crops, such as tomatoes, 
beans and vines, the last application should be made at the 
time the plants are coming into full bloom — otherwise an 
overgrowth of leaves and vine may be induced at the ex- 
pense of the fruit. A leaf crop, such as lettuce, cabbage or 
spinach, is in little danger of getting too much. Enough 
nitrogen should be supplied to the root crops, such as 
onions, carrots and parsnips, so that growth is never 
checked. More nitrogen should be suppHed during a dry 
season or in a garden where manure has not been used. 

130 



MAY: THIRD WEEK 131 

Nitrate of soda is very powerful and it often causes great 
damage in the hands of a careless or an inexperienced 
gardener. A small lump of it will burn a hole through a 
tough rhubarb leaf or will kill a small plant. From 100 to 
200 pounds an acre — one pound to each 200 square feet — 
at each apphcation will be sufficient. It may be spread 
round the plants and hills just before a rain, or it may be 
dissolved in water — a tablespoonful to a ten or twelve quart 
watering can. 

Liquid Manure Gives Good Results 

Liquid manure is also rich in nitrogen and is of special 
value for backward crops or flowers. The best material for 
making it is cow manure, although stable manure or poultry 
manure will do. The main objection to its use is that it is 
disagreeable to handle, but this can be to a large extent 
ehminated by the following method: 

Get a large barrel or a keg and bury it a third or a half in 
the soil, preferably in a shady spot, and of course as much 
out of the way as possible. Fill this about one-fifth full of 
manure, and add water until: about two- thirds full. Use this 
as a stock solution, adding water when needed. It may be 
taken out with a dipper tied to a wooden handle of con- 
venient length. A dipperful or two poured into a watering 
can full of water will produce very satisfactory results. 
If an old funnel and a piece of coarse bagging are kept on 
hand the liquid manure may be strained, and this will 
prevent clogging of the sprinkler. Free use of this manured 
water round roses and other flowers for cutting, as they 
begin to come into bud and bloom, will give splendid results. 

A shortage of nitrogen is shown by a lack of the dark- 
green color that normal leaves should show. If an applica- 
tion of nitrate of soda or liquid manure does not cure the 
trouble, a more general tonic may be needed. For this 
purpose, bone flour and genuine guano are good. Being 
less soluble than nitrate of soda, they should be stirred well 
into the soil by cultivating. 



132 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Potash is particularly desirable when a crop does not 
ripen so fast as it should. It is often used late in the season 
round small fruits or in orchards to hasten the ripening of 
the wood as well as the crop. Either muriate or sulphate of 
potash, or good unleached wood ashes, may be used as the 
top-dressing under such conditions. 

Make the First Weeding Thorough 

The most critical period in growing most of the vegetable 
crops is during the week or ten days after they break ground. 
Every hour of work neglected at this time means several 
hours of drudgery later. The best time to kill weeds is 
before they are large enough to be seen. With the wheel 
hoe, iron rake or ordinary hoe you can destroy a hundred 
weeds that have just sprouted and have not yet got their 
true leaves in the time required later to pull out half a 
dozen by the roots. Weed early — that is the secret of being 
able to take care of your garden with the least possible 
trouble. And weed clean. 

Presumably your garden was planted on a freshly raked 
surface. Any weeds that had started at the time were 
destroyed, so vegetable and weed seeds had an even start. 
But some vegetables take a comparatively long time to 
come up — notably onions, parsley, celery, and most of the 
root crops. It is therefore a good plan, if the rows are 
plainly enough marked, to go over the ground between the 
rows before the seed crops are up. 

In any case you should begin operations as soon as the 
vegetable seeds have sprouted. The wheel hoe should be 
used and care must be taken not to throw any dirt over the 
tiny seedlings. Either the disk attachment, or hoes with 
high guards at the sides, should be used. 

The first hoeing will make your garden look very neat and 
clean, but don't deceive yourself — hand weeding will be 
necessary for all row crops, and to a lesser extent for the 
things planted in hills. This hand weeding is often poorly 
done in two respects: Some weeds are broken off instead of 



MAY: THIRD WEEK 133 

being pulled out by the roots; and strips and spots of soil 
where there are no weeds at all are left undisturbed. 

A row gone over in this way will appear thoroughly done; 
but every weed broken off instead of being carefully pulled 
out by the roots will come back stronger than ever, and the 
spots where no weeds were visible are likely to be green with 
them within a week. It always saves time and work in the 
end to break up every square inch of crust and to destroy 
every weed the first time over. A small hand weeder helps 
considerably in this work — the kind with a strap to slip 
over one finger, so that the thumb and forefinger can be 
used without dropping the weeder, is a most convenient 
time-saver. 

^'Thin OuV^ Early for Best Results 

After you have the best of the weeds, the next thing is to 
thin out properly. A plant out of place is a weed, and every 
extra onion, carrot, parsnip, stalk of corn or cucumber is a 
thief of plant food and room and should be pulled up before 
it gets big enough to do damage. Beans should be thinned 
to three or four inches apart; beets to three inches apart; 
carrots, two to three inches-; corn, three or four stalks in a 
hill, or eight to twelve inches apart in the drill; cucumbers, 
two or three plants in the hill; kohl-rabi, three to four inches 
apart; lettuce, six to twelve inches — by thinning out first to 
six inches and then using every other plant; onions, two to 
four inches, but do not thin out until the maggots have got 
through with them; parsnips, three to four inches while still 
small; peas, four to six inches — where the seeds have come 
up strongly these are often left much too thick; radishes, 
half an inch to an inch for the spring sorts, and two to four 
inches for the summer and winter kinds; muskmelons, two 
or three vines to a hill as soon as well started; squashes and 
pumpkins, two or three vines to a hill; spinach, two to 
four inches except New Zealand, which requires much more 
room; Swiss chard, six to ten inches; turnips, three to four 
inches, thinning very early, especially when the seeds have 
come up thickly. 



134 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Make Your ^^ First Pickings^' Early 

A common mistake is to wait too long before eating the 
various vegetables. Most things should be used as soon as 
they are large enough to pick. Don't wait until they are 
as large as the ones you would buy in the market. The com- 
mercial grower lets his things attain a certain size because 
the market demands that size. 

Begin on your bush beans as soon as there are enough to 
make a mess. The first cabbages may be used before the 
heads have become solid. Watch your cauliflowers care- 
fully, tying the leaves over the heads as soon as the latter 
begin to form, then use them before the heads show the 
first sign of breaking. Begin to remove carrots as soon as 
they are a half -inch or so in diameter, which will leave more 
room for the others to grow. Corn should be allowed to 
become fairly firm, but not hard. 

Cucumbers, after the first two or three pickings, will 
probably keep ahead of the demand, but keep them all picked 
if you want the vines to continue bearing. Kohl-rabi begins 
to deteriorate rapidly soon after it reaches two or three 
inches in diameter. You will have to use lettuce early and 
fast to keep some of the last heads from shooting to seed. 
Begin on the peas as soon as they are large enough to pay for 
shelling. And pull radishes as soon as they are large enough 
to wash. 

Swiss chard may be cut every few days if you take only 
outside leaves. If there is more than you want let some of 
the plants grow and use the large mid-ribs stewed, like 
celery. Use the turnips as soon as they are large enough to 
peel and cook. Summer squashes should be picked before 
the shells begin to get hard. Tomatoes may be picked as 
soon as they begin to color up; place on a sunny shelf to 
ripen. 



May: Fourth Week 

CONTROLLING INSECTS AND DISEASES IN 
FLOWER AND VEGETABLE GARDEN; SPRAYS 
AND SPRAYERS AND THEIR USE 

There are a few standard remedies that can be used 
successfully against most garden troubles — if they are 
used in time. In many cases prevention must be relied 
upon instead of cure; this is particularly true of the diseases. 
Most of the garden insects first appear in small numbers, 
and propagate on the plant, so you must keep sharp watch 
at all times. Look for trouble whenever you walk through 
your garden, and when you see a leaf curled up, or a yellow 
spot, or a plant that looks a bit sick, do not rest until you 
have discovered the cause of the trouble. 

First, find out whether the trouble is caused by an insect 
or by a disease. In most cases an insect will be to blame. 
There are three general divisions of insect enemies: The 
chewers; the suckers; the root workers and borers. 

The chewing insects are readily recognized, as the results 
of their work are at once visible. They include slugs and 
caterpillars and such pests as the potato beetle and the 
cabbage worm. Most chewing insects can be successfully 
combated with poisons applied to the foliage which they 
eat. 

The sucking insects include scales and plant lice of 
various kinds, and the nymphs or young of some of the 
other insects, such as the squash bug and the white fly. 
These must be either asphyxiated or destroyed through 
the action of some external corrosive. Neither the chewers 
nor the suckers are likely to do much damage unless al- 
lowed to multiply, which, under favorable circumstances, 
they do with the utmost rapidity. 

135 



136 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The root workers and borers are the hardest to get at 
and a comparatively few of them can do great injury. 
Among these are the blue root aphis, the cabbage and 
onion maggots, and the squash borers. As the first sign of 
these intruders is the result of their work, the time has 
usually passed for effective remedies. Preventives, and de- 
struction of any insects that may appear before they go to 
any other plants and continue the damage are the only 
courses to follow. 



Rogues^ Gallery for the Vegetable and Flower Garden 

Aphis. Attacks peas, melons, roses, and so on. Use 
nicotine preparations, or kerosene emulsion, two or three 
applications at intervals of three or four days, reaching 
under sides of leaves. 

Asparagus Beetle. Use arsenate of lead on summer 
fohage; cut and burn all vines in late summer. 

Aster Beetle. Use arsenate of lead, strong; or pick by 
hand in early morning while bugs are still groggy. 

Caterpillars. Various kinds attack cabbage, tomatoes, 
tobacco, and so on. Use arsenate of lead, Paris green or 
hellebore; or pick by hand. 

Cucumber Beetle, yellow and black striped. Use 
tobacco dust as preventive; beetles carry the germs of wilt. 
Pick by hand the first bugs in early morning. Spray with 
nicotine sulphate. 

Cutworms. Fat, sluggish, ground worms, brown with 
dark stripes, cutting through stems of many plants, espe- 
cially when just up or newly set out. Trap under pieces of 
shingle or flat stones; or scatter about toward nightfall a 
mash made of one quart of wheat bran, one teaspoonful 
of Paris green or of white arsenate, one teaspoonful of a 
cheap molasses, mixed with enough water to make a mash. 
Careful search round a newly cut plant early in the morning 
will usually uncover the marauder near the surface. 

Flea Beetle. A small, hard-shelled, jumping beetle, 
which punctures leaves of tomatoes, potatoes and seedling 



MAY: FOURTH WEEK 137 

plants. Use tobacco dust or kerosene emulsion on seedling 
plants; Bordeaux and lead on tomatoes and potatoes. 

Mealy Bug. A scale-like insect with cottony covering, 
attacking some flowers. It seldom appears in the vegetable 
garden. Use kerosene emulsion; or apply alcohol with a 
small brush. 

Potato Beetle. Use arsenate of lead or Paris green. 
On eggplants use lead only, and pick by hand. 

Rose Beetle. Pick by hand and use strong arsenate 
of lead. 

Squash Bug. A lively, flat, black fellow. Use tobacco 
dust, or pick by hand to get rid of old bugs and eggs; use 
kerosene emulsion or nicotine sulphate for the young ones. 

Squash Borer. Slit stem near base of plant, and de- 
stroy the borer. Cover wound with fresh soil. 

White Fly. Attacks tomatoes, vine crops and some 
flowers. Not conspicuous until large numbers have prop- 
agated. Use tobacco dust as repellent; spray with nicotine 
preparations and kerosene emulsion. 

Mildew. Attacks cucumbers, melons, Lima beans, roses 
and other flowers. Dust with flowers of sulphur to prevent 
spread. Use regular Bordeaux-lead spray as an effective 
preventive through the season. 

Blight, affecting cucumbers, potatoes and other things, 
in various forms. Spray with Bordeaux frequently enough 
to keep all new growth covered. Dust with sulphur-lead 
preparations. 

Anthracnose, ''leaf spot" or "rust," attacking beans, 
tomatoes, celery and some flowers. Use Bordeaux mixture 
or summer-strength lime-sulphur; or ammoniacal copper- 
carbonate solution to avoid stains on foliage and flowers. 

The various diseases belong to two distinct classes. Most 
of them are parasitical — that is, the effect of the introduc- 
tion and rapid multiplication of some injurious bacteria. 
A few diseases seem to attack the whole plant system from 
root to the tip; these are called "constitutional," and little 
can be done against them except to keep the plants in vig- 
orous growth and to destroy at once any plants infected. 



138 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The parasitical diseases are also difficult to control, once 
they have been allowed to get a start, but various sprays 
are effective preventives. Within the last few years a great 
advance has been made in putting remedies into con- 
venient forms for use by the small gardener, and also in 
making apparatus to apply them. 

Own a Good Sprayer 

Every gardener should have a compressed-air sprayer 
and a powder gun or bellows for dry dusting. There are 
a number of cheap blowers, but it will pay better to invest 
a dollar and get a substantial one, not only because it will 
last longer and do better work but also because it is essential 
to have a gun with which the under sides of the leaves can 
be reached. 

Dusting with the powder forms of materials that have 
been used successfully for wet spraying, such as arsenate of 
lead, has been developed rapidly within the last few years. 
It is proving as efficient as the wet spray for many pur- 
poses, and is much more convenient to use in the small 
garden. 

In addition to the sprayer and the blower take half an 
hour off some time and make the following apparatus for 
hand picking, which is still the quickest and most effective 
method of getting the best of some pests, such as mature 
squash bugs, rose bugs, aster beetles, potato beetles on 
eggplant, and so on: To a medium-sized tin can fasten a 
handle eighteen inches long at an angle of sixty degrees, 
so that the can may easily be held level. Fill the can with 
kerosene and water. Make a small paddle, pointed at the 
end, and with one flat edge. 

With sprayer, blower and handpicker you will be pre- 
pared for anything in the way of an insect invasion that is 
likely to occur. Ammunition must be of several kinds, to 
meet the different methods of fighting adopted by the 
enemy. 



MAY: FOURTH WEEK 139 

Ammunition for Garden Pests 

For chewing insects Paris green and arsenate of lead 
are the standard remedies. The latter has two distinct 
advantages — it stays on much longer, and can be used 
without the danger of burning the fohage that always ac- 
companies use of Paris green. Arsenate of lead may be 
had in either paste or powder form. In comparing prices 
of different kinds check up the percentage of arsenic oxide 
each contains. The powder is equally as good as the paste 
for wet spraying, and in addition can be used for dusting. 
In the latter case it should be appHed while the fohage is 
dry. Hellebore is not so effective as either Paris green or 
arsenate of lead, but it washes off readily and is therefore 
sometimes used on half-grown crops, such as currants and 
cabbage. 

For sucking insects there are several good forms of in- 
secticides, most of which have some form of nicotine as their 
chief ingredient. Usually the higher the percentage of 
^ licotine the more economical the material, even though it 
costs more. 

Tobacco dust is to some extent effective, but it is par- 
ticularly useful as a preventive, not only of sucking insects 
but also of most of the chewing bugs, such as cucumber 
beetle, squash bug, and so on. If used freely on the leaves 
and about the plants before the bugs appear it acts as a 
repellent that is well worth the small cost of using it. 

Kerosene emulsion, which may be either made at home 
or bought ready prepared in a stock solution to be diluted 
with water, is another standard remedy for sucking insects. 
It is perfectly safe and a good watering will remove all 
traces from the plant; for these reasons it is a good spray 
for plants near the house. 

Plant diseases, so far as garden work is concerned, usually 
take one of three forms — bhght, or yellowing and dying of 
the fohage; mildew; and anthracnose, or spotting and 
hardening of parts of the leaves, fruits or stalks. The 
standard remedy for fungous diseases of this sort has for 



I40 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

many years been Bordeaux mixture. This may be made 
at home, but for use on a small scale a good ready-prepared 
sort is more satisfactory. It can be had in the pure form 
or combined with arsenate of lead. This double mixture 
is effective against both diseases and chewing insects. A 
double-barrelled dry spray is to be had in powdered ar- 
senate of lead and sulphur, which is convenient to apply 
to the vine crops. 

A small amount each of arsenate of lead; Bordeaux mix- 
ture (or the two combined); tobacco dust; some nicotine 
spray, and kerosene emulsion will cost little but will furnish 
protection from all the troubles Hkely to be encountered. 
Most of these things will keep indefinitely. The important 
point is to have them on hand to use at once. As some of 
these things in their concentrated forms are deadly poisons, 
they should be kept out of the way of children. In using 
any of these things follow directions carefully. Different 
makes vary considerably in analysis. 

Begin early in the season to use a combined Bordeaux- 
and-arsenate-of-lead spray on such vegetables and flowers 
as are likely to need it, and go over them at intervals of 
ten days or so to keep all new growth covered. In addition 
use tobacco dust freely wherever trouble from bugs or plant 
lice is anticipated. 

Besides these precautions remember that everything you 
can do to keep your vegetables and flowers in vigorous, 
growing conditions will make them less likely to be attacked 
or to be seriously injured by the attacks of either insects 
or diseases. 



June : First Week 

VEGETABLES FOR FALL AND WINTER: 
SUCCESSION CROPS 

The home vegetable garden should supply the table not 
only through the summer months, but also with a num- 
ber of things for winter. As ordinarily managed it often 
not only fails to do this, but even does not supply many good 
things in the late fall. Careful planning and prompt action 
now are necessary to have a supply available from next 
September to May. 

Among the vegetables that may be grown for winter are 
beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, 
celery, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins, salsify, squash and 
turnips. Crops for the late fall garden are beans, cauli- 
flower, corn, cucumbers, endive, lettuce, peas, radishes, and 
green tomatoes for pickling and ripening after frost. 

The secret of success in achieving both table and keeping 
qualities of winter vegetables is to have them at the right 
stages of development when stored. The most common 
mistakes are too early planting and too small sowings to 
allow a surplus. To keep best and to taste best, vegetables 
should be matured but not fully developed. After reaching 
maturity vegetables undergo a ripening process that pre- 
cedes decay. In the case of the root crops this is accom- 
panied by toughening of the fibers, ''stringiness" and 
general deterioration of table quality. Even small Hubbard 
squashes that have not ripened on the vine keep better than 
fully developed fruits. 

Your crop for winter use should be planted with the idea 
of having the vegetables reach good table size by the date 
at which it is usually advisable to harvest for winter storage. 
This time will vary, of course, with local climatic conditions 
just as spring planting does; but remember that the later 

141 



142 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

the spring, the earlier fall and winter crops must be planted 
to have time to develop before freezing weather. The dates 
at which it is safe to plant various winter crops in the 
vicinity of New York are given in suggestions to follow. 
In the latitude of Philadelphia planting may be delayed a 
few days or a week; in that of Boston planting should be 
done a week or ten days earlier. 

It is highly important to select varieties suitable for late 
sowings. An error in this respect is much more serious than 
in the case of spring sowings, as it may result in the loss of 
the entire crop. By using early and extra early varieties it is 
often possible to work in succession crops that would other- 
wise be impossible. In rich soil, and where irrigation can be 
applied, the time in which a crop can be brought through 
may be calculated almost to a day. Poor soil or dry weather 
at the time of sowing may delay things so that the crop will 
fail to come through on time. 

Planting in Dry Weather 

Success in sowing or transplanting in dry weather fre- 
quently hinges upon getting the soil pressed firmly round 
the seeds or plant roots. If a roller is available it may be 
used in addition to the roller wheel of the seed drill; or 
before covering, a wheelbarrow lightly loaded may be run 
over the rows of seeds, like peas and beans, that are planted 
by hand. If the weather is so dry that water must be used 
in transplanting apply it in the holes before setting the 
plants. 

A number of plants, especially those of the cabbage 
group, are sown early and transplanted. Success with 
these depends to a great extent upon getting strong, healthy, 
stocky plants to set out. Sow the seed thinly in rows 
twelve to fifteen inches apart, or better in hills four to six 
inches apart. As soon as the seedlings get their second or 
third leaves thin out so that only one plant stands in a place. 
Plants so grown will by transplanting time have stems 
thicker than a lead pencil. As the flea beetle frequently 



JUNE: FIRST WEEK 143 

injures seedlings severely, keep them dusted with land 
plaster or tobacco dust until they are well started. 

A package of each of the seeds will give plants enough for 
the medium-sized home garden. To insure good germina- 
tion, if the ground is very dry, mark off shallow trenches and 
run the hose along each one, refilling it, as the water soaks 
away, several times. Do this some hours before planting. 
Information about the winter's vegetables follows: 

Beets. When July is Hkely to be hot and dry it is best to 
sow in June. In light soil, plant an inch or an inch and a 
half deep. Detroit Dark Red and Crimson Globe are good 
sorts for storing. Extra-early sorts may be planted later. 

Brussels Sprouts. These are particularly fine for late 
fall and winter, as severe freezing only improves their 
quaHty. Sow in late May or early June, and handle in the 
same way as cabbage. Cutting out the crowns of the plants 
after the sprouts have formed throws strength into the 
development of the heads. Dalkeith and Danish Prize are 
good varieties. 

Cabbage. Sow from the last of May to the first of July, 
according to the local season and the variety. Danish 
Ballhead is of medium size-, of excellent quality and one of 
the best keepers. Some of the round, hard-heading, early 
sorts, such as Glory of Enkhuizen and Volga, may be grown 
in a shorter season than the standard late sorts and are of 
more convenient size and of better table quaHty. The 
Savoy type is unexcelled for flavor. In favorable seasons 
practically every seed will germinate, so be careful not to 
sow too thickly. 

Carrots. In good deep soils a good strain of Danvers 
Half Long is unsurpassed. In shallow soil a shorter type, 
such as Chantenay, will prove more satisfactory. To be sure 
to get the crop of good size these should be sown in Northern 
sections during June or early July. Early varieties may be 
sown later. Thin out early whether you have a surplus for 
the table or not, as small ones will not have a chance to 
mature as they do from the early sowings. 

Celery. Plants for the early fall crop may be set out 



144 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

now. Those for winter should be set late in June or in July. 
As the rows are a good distance apart fertilizer or manure 
may be used to advantage in the drill. This should be 
mixed thoroughly with the soil and appHed preferably 
some time before the plants are set. Soak the trenches 
thoroughly before planting if the soil is at all dry. If the 
weather is hot and bright shade the plants with wide boards 
for some days. Keep well cultivated from the start. 

Parsnips. If these are planted now they will be of better 
table quahty than those planted in spring, as overgrown 
roots develop undesirable pithy cores. When there are a 
few rows more than you will want to take up for winter, 
leave them in the ground for spring use. 

Potatoes. Even in the more northerly sections potatoes 
for winter use can be planted as late as the Fourth of July, 
if soil conditions are favorable, with the probabiHty that 
they will make a good crop before kilhng frost. Even if 
the skins have not become hardened when dug these po- 
tatoes will keep excellently and will be particularly good for 
seed for next year's garden. 

Pumpkins. A few sugar pumpkins are always acceptable 
for pies at Thanksgiving and during the first part of winter. 
Sow them now in prepared hills between the corn rows. 
They will make a good start, and later when the corn is 
cut off they will have full sunlight. Spray the young plants 
to protect them from squash bugs and black cucumber 
beetles. 

Salsify. This is one of most delicious of vegetables 
available for winter use and a good supply must be sown. 
The soil must be deep and rich to grow good smooth roots. 
On account of the peculiar shape of the seeds it is difficult 
to sow evenly with the drill. The small amount required 
for the home garden may easily be sown by hand, four or 
five seeds to the inch. Thin to three inches after the plants 
are well up. 

Squash. When space is limited squash may be planted 
between the corn rows, or a few hills may be placed at the 
edge of the garden, so the vines can run out on the grass. 




JUNE: FIRST WEEK 145 

In a very small garden plant Delicata or Fordhook, either 
of which is excellent for summer use and also keeps well 
through the winter. Fordhook may also be had in bush 
form. Hubbard and Boston Marrow are two of the stand- 
ard winter varieties and Deli- 
cious, a newer one, is of superfine 
flavor. Like the pumpkins, early 
growth must be carefully guarded 
from bugs. A few bottomless boxes covered with mosquito 
netting will do this. 

Turnips. The long varieties, of the rutabaga type, of 
which there are some new varieties excellent for table use, 
should be planted during June. The round yellow and 
white sorts, such as White Egg and Amber Globe, should 
not be planted until July or even the first of August, if the 
season is long, as they develop very quickly and are likely 
to become overgrown. 

Succession Crops for the Fall Garden 

The vegetables which by successive sowings may be had 
in fine quality up to killing- frost include the following: 

Beans. Pole varieties such as Golden Cluster and Old 
Homestead, and the Limas, of which Early Leviathan and 
Giant Podded Pole are two of the best, should, if planted 
now, give a continuous supply during the late summer and 
fall. If the bush varieties are preferred make a small 
planting every two to three weeks of some of the good wax 
sorts, such as Brittle Wax, Rustproof Golden Wax, or New 
Kidney Wax. Any surplus of either the pole beans or these 
may be kept over in the dried state for winter use. Leave 
only two or three of the pole beans in each hill. Thin the 
dwarf sorts so that each individual plant has plenty of 
room to develop. 

Cauliflower. To have a supply throughout the fall, 
it is best to make two separate plantings, one in early June 
and one toward the end of the month. Snowball and Dry 
Weather are both excellent sorts, the latter requiring a little 



146 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

longer to mature. To do well, cauliflower requires an abund- 
ance of moisture and the plants should be set where they 
can be watered while the heads are forming. 

Sweet Corn. This may be planted until the Fourth 
of July, or later if an early sort is used. An elevation of 
twenty-five to fifty feet will often carry it safely through 
the first frost, which is frequently followed by several 
weeks of good growing weather. Corn may be sown in 
drills and the plants thinned to ten to twelve inches apart 
as soon as well started. 

Cucumbers. It often happens that late in the fall the 
first planting is used up except for a few yellow and over- 
ripe ones that are useless for pickles and salad. Sow a few 
hills late in June or early in July. Keep the plants well 
covered with tobacco dust or ashes or land plaster during 
early growth. 

Kohl-Rabi. If you are fond of this vegetable make a 
sowing in early June, and another in July for a late supply. 
They should be used before the outer skin becomes hard 
and while the bulbs are quite small — not more than three 
inches in diameter. 

Lettuce. During midsummer heat-resisting sorts such 
as Salamander, Brittle Ice, Deacon and New York should 
be used; although, if irrigation is available. Grand Rapids, 
Big Boston and other spring varieties may be grown suc- 
cessfully. When conditions for germination are adverse 
success may often be had by shading the lettuce patch 
until the plants are well up. Seed sown in dry soil is almost 
sure to be a failure, but by watering the ground before 
sowing and by shading, a stand can generally be obtained. 

Peas. For summer planting use the heaviest soil avail- 
able and get the seed well down into the ground — two to 
two and a half inches will not be too much. Partially 
sprouting the seed before sowing will help in dry weather. 
For the latest sowing, which can be made up until August, 
use early varieties, such as Gradus or Little Marvel. Use 
kerosene emulsion or some nicotine spray to control plant 
lice. 



JUNE: FIRST WEEK 147 

Radishes. The spring sorts are usually of poor quality 
during summer and better results will generally be had with 
some of the larger summer sorts, such as Chartier, Crimson 
Giant, or White Strasburg. For winter radishes, to keep 
over in sand. White Chinese, China Rose and CaHfornia 
White Winter are good. They should not be sown until 
late July. 

Tomatoes. Like cucumbers, tomatoes sometimes *'run 
out'' before the end of the season. Plant a dozen or two 
plants in late June or July, from seed sown now, and they 
will mature fruits before frost to furnish a supply of green 
tomatoes for pickles. The largest and finest fruits should 
be saved for ripening in a cold-frame or in straw in a dark 
room or cellar, so that ripe tomatoes can be had for a month 
or more after the outside crop is gone. 



June : Second Week 

FIGHTING DRY WEATHER: MULCHING; WATER- 
ING; MODERN IRRIGATION 

Drought is only the acute form of a chronic summer 
garden disease — lack of soil moisture. Dry weather is the 
most insidious and the most effective enemy of big crops. 
Potato bugs may cut down your crop of potatoes; possibly 
squash borers will get all your squashes; but dry weather 
attacks every vegetable in the garden and cuts down the 
yield of every one. 

Lack of moisture prevents maximum crops more often 
than lack of plant food. Experiments have shown that a 
fifty per cent saturation of the soil is ideal for growth. 
During June, July, August, and often September, probably 
not one garden in a hundred is, under natural conditions, 
saturated to that degree a quarter of the time. Therefore 
the intelligent gardener will endeavor during the summer 
months to keep up to the highest possible point the amount 
of moisture in his garden soil. 

Only two treatments are possible in fighting dry soil. The 
first, except in seasons of more than normal rainfall, can be 
only partially successful in the great majority of gardens. 
It is to handle the soil in such a way that every drop of 
water is conserved and utilized as efficiently as possible. 
The second treatment is to add water by artificial means. 
Thanks to the development of overhead irrigation during 
the past few years, it is now possible for the small gardener, 
no matter where his garden may be situated, to apply 
water copiously and with very httle effort to his growing 
crops, provided only he has the water available for use. 

The first essential in conserving such moisture as Nature 
does supply is frequent cultivation, with that particular 

148 



JUNE: SECOND WEEK 149 

aim in view. By the time the dry weather sets in the weeds 
should be pretty well under control; from then on, cultiva- 
tion to conserve soil moisture by creating a dust mulch 
accomplishes the further work of destroying, practically 
before they get a start, such additional weeds as may sprout, 
and of keeping the earth loose and open so that the air can 
penetrate readily — another condition essential to healthy 
plant growth. The cultivator should leave the soil finely 
pulverized and level. For most crops it should cut not more 
than an inch or two deep. Therefore a flat blade, or a 
gang of broad, flat teeth, should be used in preference to 
the regular narrow cultivator teeth, which are valuable early 
in the season, or which may be necessary if the ground has 
been tramped down. Aim to keep the inch or two of soil 
on the surface as fine and dry as dust. It is a good plan 
to try to get over all the garden once every week. Use the 
wheel hoe, working round the plants with the hand or a small 
hoe as may be necessary. 

Mulch to Hold Moisture 

For some of the vegetable crops, some of the small fruits 
and many of the flowers, mulching with other material 
is effective. Light, strawy manure that will not work 
into the soil satisfactorily may be used in this way. Such 
plant food as it contains will be washed into the soil and 
made use of by the hungry plant roots, and the bulky 
part of it, forming a thick mat over the soil, will readily 
admit rain or water from above and hold it. Under such a 
cover the surface of the soil itself decomposes and crumbles, 
releasing the locked-up plant food, and forming an ideal 
condition for strong plant growth. 

A few vegetables that particularly require moisture and 
are benefited by such mulching are eggplants, cauliflower, 
celery, potatoes and tomatoes. Currants and goose- 
berries appreciate summer mulching. Roses and sweet 
peas are greatly benefited. Although light manure is 
probably the best material, other things, such as grass 



ISO AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

clippings, old leaves, straw, old winter mulching, and so 
forth, can be utilized to great advantage for the same 
purpose. 

The Gentle Art of Watering 

The simplest and most commonly used form of irrigation 
is by means of a hose. But a hose outfit costs almost as 
much as one for overhead irrigation, needs to be replaced 
every few years, and requires a great deal of labor. By 
overhead irrigation the water is applied automatically, 
except for a few moments' work in turning the pipe every 
half hour or hour. The outfit, consisting of galvanized 
pipe and brass or nickel nozzles instead of rubber hose, 
will last a generation. 

As a hose is more universally used, however, some sug- 
gestions for applying water by this means may be given. 
It is possible to do more harm than good by watering. If 
you are going to water a crop at all you should do it thor- 
oughly. A slight sprinkling on the surface, even if it is 
given daily, is of little use, because it stimulates the growth 
of roots near the top of the soil, where they are most ex- 
posed to the effects of heat and dry weather. A thorough 
soaking once a week is much more effective than seven 
sprinklings. 

Water may be applied just to the soil or over the foliage. 
In the former case the quickest and best way is to open up a 
shallow furrow along the edge of the row and to turn one 
end of the hose into it, letting the water run until the ground 
is thoroughly saturated, and then throwing the earth back. 
This saves labor and gets the water down to the roots. But 
cover up afterward with pulverized soil, for if the water is 
allowed to run on the surface the ground will cake, both 
wasting water and getting the soil into bad condition. 
When the water is applied over the plants and the foliage it 
should be broken into as fine a spray as possible. A simple, 
twisted-wire support, which may be purchased for a quarter, 
will hold the nozzle in any position, and this will save much 
time in watering. If the pressure is sufficient the ordinary 




Plate 13.— Modern spray irrigation solves the problem of moisture control 
for both vegetable and flower gardens. The upper illustration shows a typ- 
ical circular spray system at work on a vegetable bed. The lower, a nozzle 
hne system over flowers. In either the gardener can have rain whenever he 
wants it. 










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JUNE: SECOND WEEK 151 

types of lawn sprinklers may be used, but they must be 
watched carefully and shifted frequently. 

In watering flower beds, which are generally rounded up 
toward the center, be careful that most of the water does 
not run down to the outer edge. Shallow furrows between 
the rows of plants will hold the water until it can sink into 
the soil. If 3^our lawn is too big to cover at each water- 
ing establish a system so that the various parts will be 
thoroughly watered in turn. Here again a thorough soak- 
ing once a week is better than a daily sprinkling. 

The best time to water is late afternoon. Either wind or 
sunshine will waste a good deal of water through rapid 
evaporation. Whenever possible, cultivate the ground 
soon after watering to reestablish the soil mulch. Individual 
plants that you are trying to nurse along, or flowers to be 
grown for exhibition, may be given special attention by 
sinking a large flower pot near each, with the hole at the 
bottom loosely corked. Filling this pot every day or two 
will keep the plant supplied. 

Modern Irrigation for the Garden 

The nozzle-line system of overhead irrigation may be 
installed either on neat posts of inch gas pipe painted green 
or white, or hidden along a fence, on top of a pergola, or 
along the edge of a walk or curbing. It will work well from 
a considerable height or within a few inches of the ground, 
provided there are no tall plants near to interfere with the 
streams as they leave the nozzles. A small, portable, nozzle- 
line watering outfit is now made with a water motor at- 
tached, and mounted on wheels, so it may be moved readily 
from one part of the grounds to another and set up with a 
few moments' work. It turns automatically and requires 
no attention except to turn the water off. 

Modern irrigation sprinklers cover a circle some thirty 
to fifty feet in diameter, and make a very efficient portable 
watering device. For larger areas, the sprinklers are 
placed on upright pipes or "risers" at regular intervals, 



152 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

so that the whole space to be irrigated is watered at one 
time. 

For the vegetable garden, at least one nozzle line the 
length of the plot should be fitted up. As the nozzles 
throw twenty-five feet in either direction, the pipe being 
turned from side to side, this line will cover a strip fifty- 
feet wide. If the garden is wider than this another line 
may be added or the first one may be built in sections of 
convenient length to move. A twenty-foot length of three- 
quarter-inch pipe weighs only about twenty-five pounds. 

At the head of each line of nozzles there should be a gate 
valve to control the water, and a turning union. The older 
types of nozzles were somewhat given to clogging up, but 
in the newer ones this difficulty has been largely overcome. 

The various items required for a line of the nozzle system 
are: Gate valve, seventy-five cents; turning union and 
handle, $1.75 to $3, according to type and finish; nozzles, 
inserted every three or four feet in the pipe, five cents 
apiece; and three-quarter-inch galvanized pipe, six to 
eight cents a foot. To get your nozzles in perfect align- 
ment along the pipe you need a special drill fitted with a 
level with which holes are drilled after the pipe is in place. 
For a few hundred feet of pipe for a garden you can have the 
holes drilled and the nozzles inserted where you buy the 
pipe. 

The two great advantages of watering with overhead 
irrigation are the tremendous saving in time and the fact 
that the water is applied in an ideal way, falling in small 
drops that do not pack the soil or spatter or injure foliage 
or blossoms. 



June : Third Week 

SUMMER WORK IN THE ROSE GARDEN: INSECTS; 
DISEASES; SUMMER PRUNING; KEEPING CUT 
FLOWERS FRESH 

Continued attention is necessary in the rose garden if 
you would make sure of an abundance of perfect blossoms. 
No matter how strong and healthy the plants may look, 
and even though the first buds may have opened, serious 
injury still threatens from a number of sources. Protec- 
tion from insects and diseases, summer mulching, extra 
manuring, summer pruning, training new growth, and so 
forth, are among the things that the rose grower must keep 
in mind and give attention to throughout the season. 

The rose is liable to injury from many insects and diseases. 
The most annoying and pernicious intruders are the rose 
bugs or rose beetles. These insects are particularly hard to 
combat because they generally appear when mature and 
ready to do the maximum amount of injury with a mini- 
mum susceptibility to insecticides. If neglected they will 
entirely defoliate even large plants. The first attacks, 
however, are usually confined to open flowers and buds, 
particularly of light-colored varieties. The beetles are most 
prevalent in sections where the soil is sandy, but as they 
can travel long distances, and make themselves at home on 
wild roses as well as on the cultivated sorts, few localities 
seem to be immune from their attack. 

Paris green, one pound to 150 to 200 gallons of water, 
and arsenate of lead, five pounds to fifty to seventy-five 
gallons of water, are effective poisons; but Paris green is 
likely to injure the foliage, and arsenate leaves it discolored. 
Unless the beetles attack in overwhelming numbers, by 
far the quickest, surest and least injurious method of 

IS3 



154 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

getting rid of them is "hand picking." This should be 
done early every morning, and with the proper equipment 
a great number of beetles can be destroyed in a very short 
time. An old cooking vessel with a handle, such as the 
bottom part of a double boiler, is just the thing to collect 
bugs in. It should be filled about a third full of water and 
kerosene. From a piece of shingle whittle out a pointed 
paddle, which may be used to dislodge the beetles. If this 
work is done regularly every morning when the beetles first 
put in an appearance you will not have much difficulty in 
getting the best of them. 

The rose slug is often troublesome. This is a small green 
worm that works on the under sides of the leaves, eating 
through and leaving only skeletons. Birds generally keep 
the slugs under control, but if they get numerous enough 
to prove injurious, hellebore, either dusted or sprayed, will 
get them. Be sure that the under sides of the leaves are 
covered. Hellebore may be dusted on pure, or mixed with 
boiling water, a tablespoonful to two gallons, and used when 
cool. Arsenate of lead powder is also effective and may 
be dusted on the under sides of the leaves with a goose- 
necked duster. The slug usually appears from June to 
August. 

The green fly or aphis frequently attacks the rose. Being 
near the color of the plant this may become firmly estab- 
lished before being noticed, unless sharp watch is kept. The 
flies usually congregate first about the base of the bud, in 
leaf axils, or in any place where they are Hkely to pass un- 
noticed. When you discover them spray at once with 
nicotine or kerosene emulsion. Keeping the plants dusted 
with tobacco dust will help to keep the aphides away. If 
they become established the plants will need to be sprayed 
several times; the pests propagate so rapidly that a few 
will soon reinfest the plant. 

Another insect that sometimes attacks roses, working 
from the under side of the leaves, is the leaf hopper. Small 
yellow spots appear on the upper surfaces of otherwise 
healthy leaves without apparent cause. The hoppers are 



JUNE: THIRD WEEK 155 

very small and are something like flea beetles in their habit 
of jumping away when disturbed. They are light yellow 
in color. Nicotine spray and kerosene emulsion are effec- 
tive against them. 

Mildew, Anthracnose and Leaf Blight 

The disease most commonly attacking roses is mildew. 
There are two forms: The first and most common is con- 
spicuous because of the suddenness with which it appears, 
forming a cobwebby coating upon the leaves. The standard 
remedy is flowers of sulphur, mixed with a little slaked 
lime if desired, which may be dusted on where the disease 
appears. The second form, downy mildew, is more persist- 
ent, as it works farther into the tissues of the plant. Flowers 
of sulphur, or other fungicidal sprays, will prevent its 
spread, but all infected leaves should be carefully gathered 
and destroyed. 

When the leaves on apparently healthy plants show small 
black spots, fade out and drop off, so that the plant looks 
very much denuded, anthracnose is likely to be the trouble. 
It may be controlled by spraying with ammoniacal-copper- 
carbonate solution at intervals of a week. All affected 
foliage should be burned. 

Somewhat similar to anthracnose is leaf blight, which 
resembles strawberry blight. Bordeaux is useful in con- 
trolling it. If the foliage turns a faded color and falls, es- 
pecially from new growth and from the tips of canes, the 
disease is leaf blight. Infected canes should be cut out and 
burned, and if there are many bad places it will be best 
to get rid of the entire plant. 

All this makes quite a formidable array of troubles, but 
the rose grower is not likely to encounter them all during 
one season. Most of them can be controlled by a single 
combination spray applied every ten days or two weeks 
throughout the season. This plan of protection is by far 
the safest and surest in the end, particularly when the roses 
are grown mostly for cut blooms and a slight disfigurement 



IS6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

of the foliage will not be a serious objection. When it is 
desired to keep the foliage clean, ammoniacal-copper- 
carbonate may be used in place of Bordeaux and arsenate 
of lead powder instead of paste. 

It is of great advantage to have available an abundance of 
water under strong pressure. Water applied in a fine spray 
will not injure the roses and will keep in check most of the 
insects to be feared. 



Summer Mulching and Pruning 

To bloom through a long season and with vigor roses 
require plenty of mulching. Summer mulching is of great 
advantage. Fine, rather Kght, well-rotted manure is ideal 
for this purpose. If it is too fresh it may injure the plants; 
if too coarse it is not effective as a mulch. The bed should 
be thoroughly hoed over before the mulch is applied, so 
sprouting weeds will be destroyed. To obtain the best 
blooms some additional feeding of the plants will be re- 
quired; the mulch of manure, if of the right kind, will serve 
this additional purpose, as every rain or thorough watering 
will carry plant food down to the roots. 

When mulch is not used liquid manures or bone dust or 
bone flour and a little nitrate of soda should be given. If 
the ground has been thoroughly enriched an application of 
nitrate of soda alone will generally show marked results. 
Another convenient form in which this additional plant 
food may be appKed is by giving a dressing of sheep manure 
or shredded cattle manure, raking or hoeing it Kghtly into 
the surface, and then giving a thorough watering. This is 
much more convenient than making and applying Kquid 
manure and it gives much the same effect. 

When many flowers are cut the plant is practically given 
a summer pruning in their removal. In cutting flowers, as 
in pruning, be sure always to cut about a quarter of an 
inch above an outside bud or branch, so the bush will tend 
to grow outward, leaving an open center to admit plenty 
of air and sunshine. 



JUNE: THIRD WEEK 157 

A moderate pruning or cutting back, as the blooming 
season draws to a close, will increase the number of flowers 
to be expected at the next blooming period. Even the hy- 
brid perpetuals sometimes give a few blossoms again in the 
fall. 

Training Climbing Roses 

The Crimson Ramblers and other climbers are given 
their annual pruning just after blooming. Cut out the oldest 
flowering wood or any old, dead wood that may have 
escaped notice in the spring, and such new growths as cross 
or conflict or seem not to be needed. There is Httle danger 
of taking out too much, as the new shoots grow from ten 
to twenty feet or more during the season. 

Begin training the shoots while they are small. Do not 
fail to provide a suitable trellis. The climbing roses, if 
simply fastened up against the house, will work havoc 
with eave troughs and the edges of the roof over which 
they climb, keeping them shaded and wet and inviting rot. 

In the cases of some of the taller bush roses, which tend 
to send up straight, tall canes, bend over the new pHable 
canes a couple of inches or so above ground, nearly at right 
angles, and bend upward again a few inches farther along 
the cane. These crooks check the flow of sap, with the 
result that the buds on the lower parts of the canes are 
allowed to develop; otherwise you are Hkely to get many 
canes that are practically bare of foliage near the bottom. 

Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh 

Double enjoyment is to be had from the garden through- 
out the summer by the judicious use of cut flowers. Many 
people refrain from the free use of blossoms indoors for 
fear of curtailing the supply outside. Free cutting, how- 
ever, almost always means more flowers. The plants upon 
which the blooms are allowed to mature will go by much 
sooner than if the blooms are kept cut. This is especially 
true of annuals, such as sweet peas. Even if you cannot 



IS8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

use them all, the blossoms should be removed as soon as 
they begin to fade. 

Make a practice of cutting your flowers daily, early in 
the morning. Those designed for use in the house should 
be cut just as they are beginning to open. Do not, how- 
ever, make the mistake of feehng that you must use all the 
flowers you cut. A massive, crowded, mixed bouquet, 
containing all kinds of flowers and colors, is not a thing of 
beauty. 

The Japanese, who have made a distinct art of arranging 
cut flowers, generally use only two or three blooms of a 
single variety. Perhaps, according to our taste, this is 
extreme; but there is a happy medium. The mixed bouquet 
should be so arranged that it appears natural. 

To keep flowers fresh until they are put into the water 
after cutting, sprinkle them, wrap the stems in moist paper 
or a damp cloth, and keep in a tight box in as cold a place 
as possible. To keep them fresh in the vases cut off a little 
of the stems daily, and supply with fresh water. To revive 
wilted flowers, cut the stems, place for ten minutes in water 
as hot as the hand can bear it, and then in cold water. 
Freshly cut flowers will keep better if they are placed in 
fresh cold water, or the stems in a damp cloth, and kept 
in a cold place, before being used for bouquets or in vases 
in the living room. 



June : Fourth Week 

CELERY FOR FALL AND WINTER: BUYING 
PLANTS; TRANSPLANTING; CULTURE; EARLY 
BLANCHING 

Celery takes up little room in proportion to the yield and 
can follow an earlier crop that has been removed. From 
the middle of July to the first of August put in plants de- 
signed for fall and winter use, as the first fall frosts do not 
check growth. Plants set out earlier will be ready sooner in 
the fall, but quality is always poor until cool weather, which 
adds the crispness and tang that makes celery a winter 
favorite. 

Make the soil for your celery patch the richest spot in the 
garden. The more rapid and luxuriant the growth the 
better will be the quality and the more certain the crop will 
be to come through on time. Here is a chance to use up all 
the season's left-overs in the way of plant foods. There are 
probably odds and ends of fertihzers, the compost heap that 
has accumulated during the spring and summer, the chicken 
manure, and some ashes. In addition to this general hash 
of plant foods, give a good dressing of high-grade fer- 
tilizer for the last course, and rake it thoroughly into the 
soil. 

Do not be afraid of getting the soil too rich. Any of these 
deposits in the soil bank that the celery does not draw upon 
for use will be available for early spring crops of green 
onions, lettuce and cabbage. 

Equally important are good, sturdy, well-developed plants 
that have already begun to get their shape, are easy to 
plant, and are ready to grow right on. Size at the base of 
the stalks, rather than height, should be the basis upon 
which to judge plants. A spindling plant will waste a good 

159 



l6o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

deal of time in readjusting itself to a better form, if it ever 
does so. 

If you have your own plants growing in a flat or in a 
frame cut the' tops back severely a week or so before plant- 
ing. It is well, also, to keep them rather on the dry side 
until just a day or two before planting; this stimulates the 
growth of the feeding root hairs which take up the plant- 
food solutions from the soil, and, as many of these roots are 
destroyed in transplanting, even with care, the more there 
are available the sooner the plants will become established. 

If you have to buy plants select them personally in your 
own neighborhood if possible. If they must be ordered 
from a distance secure plants that have been transplanted 
or are "re-rooted." Celery for the summer planting is often 
sown late in March or early in April in the open and grown 
without transplanting; if these are thinned out and properly 
cared for they will make handsome-looking plants, but each 
will have formed one large tap-root, instead of the desired 
thick mat of fibrous roots. 

The "re-rooted" plants have had the main root cut, with 
the result that a fibrous mat of roots, similar to that of a 
transplanted plant, has been formed. This has, of course, 
made an extra operation and such plants cost a little more. 

Water Needed at Transplanting 

Celery suffers more quickly from lack of water than most 
other plants at all stages of development. Moreover, the 
setting out is usually done at the driest season of the year. 
At the time of transplanting it is often advisable, even when 
it is not absolutely necessary, to use water. 

Prepare the ground in advance for transplanting. The 
rows may be from two to four feet apart, depending upon 
the method to be used to blanch them and the variety. 
Frequently celery plants are set out between rows of other 
things that are still growing but will be out of the way before 
the celery needs all the space. With some modern methods 
of blanching, to be described later, the rows may be, if nee- 




Plate 15. — A little home made house like this will be used almost every day 
during the summer and autumn. See text for list of materials required. In 
the lower photograph, a pergola extends from the house to the summer house 
and IS continued on to the garage. Covered with vines, it afifords a passage 
protected from sun and from ordinary rain storms. 








^ 



WWillW ii 



Plate i6. — The starting of pansies and other hardy perennials and biennials 
for next season's bloom is one of the important tasks to be attended to through 
July and August. The cloth covered sash which can be held in place a few inches 
above a cold frame makes an ideal place in which to start the seeds. Cool and 
shaded but with plenty of air. (Lower) A box of pansy seedlings ready to be 
transplanted to their winter quarters. The little plants have developed four or 
five true leaves and a good bunch of roots. In starting plants of this it is im- 
portant not to get the seeds too thick. The plants are allowed to make more 
development before being transplanted than those started in spring under glass. 



JUNE: FOURTH WEEK l6l 

essary, as close as eighteen inches. Or the plants may be 
set eight to twelve inches apart each way, so that they will 
crowd enough to grow upright and blanch themselves. 
When space is very limited, this method may be used to 
advantage; but the stalks of the individual plants do not 
get so large, and, in order for this system to be successful, 
the soil must be enriched to the limit and an abundance of 
water appUed every few days. Another method is to plant 
in double rows, six inches apart, so two rows may be planted 
together. This is advisable when blanching is to be done 
by hilling with earth. With boards or individual blanchers 
it is of little advantage, except that more plants can be 
grown in a limited space. The plants are set about six 
inches apart in the rows. 

After the soil is ready, if water is to be used, open up a 
shallow trench the length of each row with the wheel hoe 
and turn in the water until it is well filled. If necessary fill 
it several times, until the soil at the bottom is well saturated. 
If this can be done in the morning conditions will be right 
for planting in the late afternoon. If not enough water is 
available to flood a trench in this way dig small holes with 
the hoe or trowel where the plants are to be set and pour half 
a pint or more of water into each. 

Watering on the surface after setting the plants, unless 
it can be done with an irrigating outfit that will soak the 
ground thoroughly, is of little use. 

Shading the plants from the hot sun, however, keeps them 
from wilting. A wide board set on edge at an angle on the 
sunny side of the row, and held in place by short stakes, is 
a quick and effective method of supplying shade. W^hen 
only a few plants are set newspapers may be arched over 
the rows and held in place with soil. If the weather remains 
bright and hot the protection may be left on for several 
days after planting; the plants will get enough light and air 
without removal at night. 



1 62 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Trim the Roots 

As the celery plants are received, or as they are lifted 
from the seed bed or flat, the roots are too long and should 
be well trimmed before setting. Do not be afraid of in- 
juring the plants by this root pruning. Long roots that 
can easily be bent or broken are either dead or so much 
injured that they are of no use to the plants. The trimmed 
roots are not only easier to handle, but they also induce the 
formation of small side roots that help to establish the plants 
quickly in their new quarters. Trimming back the top 
saves work in planting and lessens the loss of water to the 
plant through transpiration — so that the curtailed root 
system is able to keep up with the demands of the plant, 
and wilting is reduced. 

In buying plants, strain as well as variety is important. 
Celery seed, even of the same variety, differs greatly in its 
abiHty to produce solid, meaty stalks. The hollow hearts, 
which celery growers try to avoid, are usually the result of 
inferior seed. As to varieties. White Plume gives the 
earHest results and is the easiest to plant. It is not so large 
nor so crisp and nutty in flavor as some of the later sorts. 
Golden Self -Blanching is a universal favorite. It blanches 
readily, though not so easily as White Plume. The stalks 
are thicker and stockier. Winter Queen and Evans' Tri- 
umph, which are similar, are of medium size and form 
thick, stocky stalks; they are more easily blanched and 
handled than the old, tall-growing varieties. Emperor and 
Easy Blanching both make thick and meaty stalks and will 
undoubtedly become widely used, especially in private 
gardens, as they become better known. If there is room 
to grow but one variety Golden Self-Blanching will be found 
satisfactory. If two can be used try White Plume or Golden 
Self -Blanching for early use, and Winter Queen or one of the 
other new sorts for fall and winter. 

After planting, celery will require little care for several 
weeks except to keep it thoroughly cultivated and growing 



JUNE: FOURTH WEEK 163 

rapidly, with one or two light dressings of nitrate of soda to 
speed it up. As the plants get taller, a little earth should be 
worked toward the rows with the horse hoe or wheel hoe. 
Then the important work of blanching begins. 

The first step is to maintain the plants in an upright posi- 
tion of growth. This can be done by working the earth 
round the plants with one hand while holding the stalks 
together with the other. No attempt is made in this opera- 
tion to cover the stalks; the purpose is merely to keep the 
outside leaves from spreading out flat, as they would do if 
left to themselves, so that when the blanching is undertaken 
it will be easier, and the bunches of stalks, being compact, 
will keep the soil from getting into the heart of the plants. 

Blanching for Early Use 

In the home garden, up to the time of storing celery for 
winter only a few plants will be wanted at a time, and the 
easiest and best method of blanching is by using a metal 
collar with paper bands made for the purpose. The metal 
collar is clamped about the plant, holding the stalks to- 
gether, the paper tube is slipped over it, and the metal 
piece is drawn out, leaving the plant neatly held in a tight 
paper casing. A dozen or two stalks can be quickly blanched 
at a time by this method. The paper tubes, which cost 
about a cent and a half apiece, will last, with care, for sev- 
eral seasons. Short pieces of drain tile may be used in the 
same way, but they are much harder to put on, clumsy to 
store and will not give so satisfactory results. 

For blanching with earth, which seems to give a little 
more crispness and flavor than any of the other methods, 
the soil should be thoroughly loosened up between the rows 
and worked up to the plants as high as possible with the 
cultivator or hoe. Then it must be drawn up or banked up 
with the spade so that the stalks are covered clear to the 
top leaves, excluding all light. This should be done only 
when the plants are dry, though the soil banks much better 
when it is fairly moist. Only that part of the crop which is 



164 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

wanted for the late fall or early winter use should be hilled 
up or blanched in this way. That designed for winter use 
should be left growing in the green state, to be trenched or 
stored in the cellar or frame or root pit after the other garden 
vegetables are harvested. 

Celery in the home garden is generally quite free from 
insects and diseases. The celery caterpillar and rust or 
bhght are the only things hkely to give trouble. The former 
is a conspicuous caterpillar, two or three inches long and 
similar in appearance to the caterpillar which feeds upon 
carrots. Usually these do not appear in large numbers and 
hand picking is the easiest way to get rid of them. For 
protection from rust or bhght, the plants should be sprayed 
before the disease appears. Bordeaux will do, but will 
disfigure the foKage to some extent, so ammoniacal copper 
carbonate solution is preferable. Spray every ten days or 
so. Avoid working round or handling the plants while the 
foliage is wet. 



July: First Week 

MIDSUMMER WORK IN THE VEGETABLE GAR- 
DEN: SAVING THE SOIL MOISTURE; EGG- 
PLANTS AND PEPPERS; THE VINE CROPS, 
TRANSPLANTING IN DRY WEATHER; LATE 
PLANTING 

Scores of gardeners who started out enthusiastically in 
spring begin to let up a Httle when hot weather comes in 
June, and practically abandon the garden to its fate after 
the Fourth, sacrificing a large part of the work already 
done. 

The root crops for late summer and for winter should be 
top dressed now with nitrate of soda. This is particularly 
valuable in dry weather, when nitrogen in the form gen- 
erally existing in the soil is largely inert because there is 
not enough moisture to make it available. 

One of the most important factors in securing good root 
crops is to thin out sufficiently and to do it early. Two to 
three inches apart is right for carrots, onions and salsify, 
three to four inches for beets, parsnips and the smaller 
varieties of turnips; and four to six inches for large turnips 
and rutabagas. 

The various hot-weather plants mil need attention now — 
tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, muskmelons, watermelons, 
pole beans, Hma beans and late sweet corn. All these, 
with the exception of dwarf Hmas, are usually grown in 
hills, and it is a temptation to cultivate and weed just 
round the hills and to let the spaces between go until the 
plants get considerably larger. 

This is a great mistake. An efficient way of managing 
these crops in the home garden is to use the rake attach- 
ment on the wheel hoe and an ordinary iron rake between 

i6s 



1 66 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

the hills. An hour's work with this combination before 
the weeds start, and once a week thereafter, will take care 
of a surprisingly large number of hills. If, however, the 
weeds are allowed to establish themselves, as they do very 
quickly at this time of the year, the rake teeth will not 
destroy them and the hand hoe must be used. 

Supports for Tomatoes 

When only a dozen or two plants are grown, staking and 
pruning of tomatoes are always advisable. Plants thus 
cared for occupy less room, produce earlier and more first- 
quality table fruit, even if not a greater total amount, the 
fruit ripens earlier, and is much less subject to the attacks 
of rot or other disease. 

Drive in stakes five or six feet long soon after the plants 
are set out and tie the vines before they have made growth 
enough to lop over. Some gardeners prefer pruning to 
single stems, but usually more and practically as good and 
as early fruit can be had by allowing one or two of the 
suckers or side shoots on the plants to grow. 

When the plants are set out in one or two long rows a 
convenient and easy method of supporting them is to put in 
a few stout stakes, and stretch two pieces of wire on these, 
one six inches or so above the ground and another four feet 
above the first. 

Twine is strung between the wires, and upon this the 
vines are trained. Barrel hoops, supported by two or three 
stakes, also make a good support, particularly if the vines 
are not to be carefully pruned. 

Look out for the large horn or tomato worm, which if 
left unmolested will do a great deal of harm in a few days. 
He is a chewer and arsenate of lead will get him, but the 
quickest and best way is hand picking. Keep the plants 
well supported and thinned, removing surplus foliage to 
admit sunshine and air, thinning fruits that touch, and 
spraying with Bordeaux; this will prevent rotting. 

For a supply of tomatoes for canning and preserving and 



JULY: FIRST WEEK 167 

an after-frost supply to be kept in the cold-frame or cellar, 
late plants should be set out. One way of obtaining a crop 
of these is to root a batch of cuttings now. Side shoots 
that are removed and placed in a box of sandy soil in the 
shade and kept watered will root in a few days, and these 
made- to-order plants may be brought to full bearing before 
frost. 

Eggplant should be given a dressing of nitrate of soda 
at the first hoeing, and a dressing of liquid manure or a 
complete fertilizer at the second. An abundance of mois- 
ture is necessary, and if irrigation is not available a good 
plan is to mulch the rows with short strawy manure, rotted 
leaves or old short straw. 

Don't Leave Vine Plants to Strangle Each Other 

The various vine crops are treated in much the same 
way. Probably the most common mistake is in leaving 
too many vines in a hill. The gardener who has succeeded 
in getting a stand of six or eight good plants feels that 
he has done his duty when he pulls out all but four or 
five. Reduce this number to tw^o as soon as they begin to 
crowd. Use tobacco dust as a preventive of striped cucum- 
ber beetle. Spray with Bordeaux mixture or dust with 
an arsenate-sulphur compound to keep all the new growth 
covered. For the large black stink-bug use kerosene emul- 
sion. Watch squash and pumpkin vines for the borer. 
When the tips of the vines and the leaves wilt on a hot 
day search carefully at the base of the vines for him. He 
can usually be located inside the stem within the first few 
joints from the soil. A slit in it with a sharp knife blade 
will permit you to take him out. The wound, if covered 
with soil, will quickly heal. 

At the time of the second hoeing, work in a light dressing 
of nitrate of soda. When the vines reach across the rows 
the ends may be pinched out, which tends to develop the 
side shoots upon which the fruits are usually borne. 



i68 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Holding the Soil Moisture in Summer 

The summer inattention of the gardener is often due to 
ignorance as well as to shiftlessness. I have had old farmers 
remonstrate with me that I would injure my onions and 
other rowed crops by going through them so much with a 
wheel hoe, and thus drying up the surface. But in these 
days, anyone entitled to the name of gardener knows — or 
has Httle excuse for not knowing — that it is only by keeping 
the surface dry and finely pulverized that the moisture 
below the surface can be conserved. A simple illustration 
will serve to prove the physical principle involved in this 
fact. Take a strip of blotting paper, dip one end in water 
and see how the moisture soaks up through it to the top. 
Next take a similar piece, cut it in two, press the ends 
firmly together, and dip the lower part in water. The 
water refuses to cross the line, infinitesimal as the separa- 
tion is, because the ''capillary tubes" through which it rises, 
have been severed. In the same way, frequent cultivation 
of the surface of the soil, severs the capillary tubes through 
which moisture rises from the lower levels of the soil to the 
surface, and is there evaporated at an astonishingly rapid 
rate by wind and sun. Simple as this rule is, refusal to take 
advantage of it every year costs hundreds of gardeners a 
good many dollars each, both in actual income and possible 
saving, for it is as true of the garden patch as of broad 
acres of potatoes or corn. 

One of the most important things to attend to, then, in 
summer work in the garden, is frequent shallow cultivation. 
It need not, and for most crops should not, be over two 
inches deep. The most efficient and rapid tool to use for 
this work in the garden, is the double- wheel hoe, until crops 
get too large to be straddled. After that it can be changed 
to a single-wheel hoe, and the leaf guards put on. It is 
advisable to use alternately the flat hoes and the cultivator 
teeth (the improved forms of the latter cut deeper in the 
middle of the row than they do near the plants). This 
prevents the formation of a hard crust just below the dirt 



JULY: FIRST WEEK 169 

mulch, a condition which is apt to be the result in very dry 
weather, if the flat hoes alone are used. 

Keep Down Late Weeds 

Care should also be taken, of course, to keep down all 
weeds. Not only do they strangle the growth of legitimate 
plants, but they rob the soil of food and much needed 
moisture. Remove weeds while they are small. The work 
of pulling them up will be a great deal less. Often it takes 
from three to four times as long to weed a row out clean, 
where the weeds have been allowed to grow up as tall as 
plants, as it would have taken when they were first large 
enough to be pulled out. 

The summer conservation policies above outHned — keep- 
ing the soil free from weeds and frequently cultivated — 
are necessary to carry through to successful maturity such 
spring crops as onions, parsnips, oyster plants, beets, car- 
rots, etc.; and the later planting of pole beans, squash, 
melons, etc. The majority of these can be successfully 
stored, and, if the work is properly done, it is remarkable 
how well their quality can be preserved. 

Summer Transplanting for Winter Crops 

In addition to these crops, however, there are a number 
of others which may be planted quite late, and still mature, 
making real fall crops which may be used to fill up the space 
in the garden occupied before by early cabbage, lettuce, 
radishes, peas, green onions, early potatoes, or anything 
else that is out of the way by the end of July. It is not only 
a waste of space but usually a source of much weed trouble 
for the coming year to let such spots remain idle for half 
a season. 

Among the first of such crops to be put in are the late 
cabbages for storing over winter. For this purpose, I 
prefer the Danish Ballhead type which can be planted 
closer than such sorts as the Autumn King, will head more 
surely, quickly and solidly, and is easier to keep. The 



lyo AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

earlier in July these can be set out the better, — use plants 
from the seed that was planted the last part of May or 
early in June. In the same class are cauliflower, Brussels 
sprouts and kale, which is used for greens and has the great 
advantage of withstanding almost any degree of cold, so 
that its crumpled leaves may be gathered for use from 
under a blanket of snow. Brussels sprouts are altogether 
too little used and appreciated. In quality they leave 
nothing to be desired, being far superior to cabbage, they 
withstand any amount of cold (I have gathered them from 
stalks in the open in January), and the new sorts such as 
Dalkeith and Danish Giant bear abundantly. 

As the soil, at this time of the year, is frequently quite 
dry, two things must be done, in setting out, to give the 
plants a sure start. In the bottom of the hole in which 
the plant is to be set, pour a half pint or more of water. 
Secondly, set the plants deeply and firmly in the soil ; after 
setting out a row, go back over it with the balls of the feet, 
press down with all your weight on either side of the stem; 
there is no danger of packing the earth too hard. 

Seeds to Sow for Fall and Winter 

Of the seeds which may be planted at this late season, 
the most important are turnips, beans, and early beets. 
The early carrots would probably have time to mature, 
but they are very small, and it is much better to plant 
Danvers or Coreless in May or early June. Beets, however, 
are much better if they do not grow too long and get too 
large. The same is true of turnips, the most rapid growing 
of root crops. Petrowski, a smooth, yellow, small sized 
sort with a mild flavor is not so widely known as it should 
be. Golden Ball is also largely used. Of the beets I like 
Early Model, which makes a smooth, deep root, of fine 
color and flavor. Detroit Dark Red is even finer, but takes 
a little longer to mature. Ruta-bagas are generally used 
for stock feeding, but small varieties are excellent for the 
table: Breadstone is a high quaKty variety. 



JULY: FIRST WEEK 171 

All the above may be kept through the winter; besides 
these there is ample time for early peas, lettuce and radishes 
to mature and furnish a very acceptable variety for the table 
during the several weeks of fall and winter. Gradus and 
Early Morn, tall sorts, and Blue Bantam and Laxtonian are 
all splendid quick growing peas. Grand Rapids for a 
''curly sort" and Big Boston for a heading variety, I con- 
sider the best of the lettuces for late plantings. Seeds 
should be sown a little at a time until September, the last 
plantings giving plants to transplant to the frames. Crim- 
son Giant is an unsurpassed radish, very firm and mild. 

The great secret in getting a ''good stand" from seeds 
planted during the hot dry weather, is to "^rw" the seed 
into the soil. Seed for these late sowings should be planted 
deeper than in the spring; and when planted by hand the 
seeds should be firmed into the bottom of the drill with the 
back of a hoe, or the sole of the foot before covering it. The 
necessity of having the soil thus pressed up firm and close 
to the seed is twofold. It insures more moisture being ab- 
sorbed by the seed to start germination, and it gives the 
sprouting tap-root of the seed a congenial environment; 
whereas, when it strikes out into a soil space filled with hot, 
dry air, as is in the case in the germination of loosely planted 
seeds, it is doomed at the start. 



July: Second Week 

STARTING PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS FROM 
SEED FOR NEXT YEAR'S GARDENS 

A garden without hardy perennials is not complete. 
When once established these plants require a minimum of 
attention in proportion to the results they give. They are 
reliable, being for the most part free from disease, and they 
bloom year after year, meeting almost everything required 
in the way of color, height, and so forth. 

Two things that have operated against greater use of 
perennials in American gardens are cost and lack of famil- 
iarity. Individual plants need not be very expensive. 
Many good varieties may be had for a quarter apiece, but 
when one comes to get the several dozen required for a good 
hardy border, or even for occasional use about the place, the 
cost is considerable. 

No gardener, however, need be deterred from the gen- 
erous use of hardy perennials because of this fact. He can 
grow his own. No matter how small his garden, he can pro- 
duce dozens of good plants of some of the best types which, 
if bought from the nursery, would cost from fifty to fifteen 
cents each. And his only cash outlay will be a fraction of a 
cent apiece for his plants. Five or ten cents buys enough 
seed of most things to raise several dozen plants. Some new 
varieties may cost twenty-five cents a packet, but plants 
of these sorts cost fifty cents to two dollars each. 

To be in prime condition to go through the winter and to 
produce the best results for next summer's garden plants 
should be started now. Among the best are hardy aster, 
bellis, campanula, Canterbury bells, hardy dianthus, del- 
phinium, digitalis, hollyhock, peony, hardy phlox, hardy 
poppy, sweet William, tritoma, hardy alyssum, anchusa, 

172 



JULY: SECOND WEEK 173 

anemone, aquilegia, candytuft, chrysanthemum, gypsophila, 
helenium, hardy hibiscus, myosotis, hardy lobelia, pansy, 
viola or tufted pansy and wall flower. 

Planting is not usually done until the latter part of July 
or early August, but now is the time to get busy and make 
out your order. If you don't know just what to get look 
round among gardens where these things are now in bloom 
and decide upon the varieties that suit your taste. By the 
time you have obtained your seeds and have your borders 
ready it will be time to plant. There are usually more seeds 
in each package than you will need, so an excellent plan 
is to make your first sowing early, using about half the 
seeds of each variety; then if anything goes wrong you 
can make a second planting in time to get good plants 
before cold weather. 

Plant Seeds in Old Cold-Frame 

At this time of the year there is one difficulty in getting a 
good stand. There is heat enough and to spare, but mois- 
ture is required. If your planting is done just after a soaking 
rain germination will generally take place before the soil 
has become dry again on the surface — but such a rain does 
not always come when the gardener wants it. Furthermore, 
a hard rain just after the little seedlings have germinated 
will sometimes almost wholly ruin them. Therefore, al- 
though the seedlings are best handled outdoors, a special 
place should be made for them. 

Give the soil a thorough saturation just before planting 
and then maintain a mulch to conserve it until the Httle 
seedlings are well started. The longer watering can be de- 
layed after planting the better. It tends, even when care- 
fully done, to crust or bake the soil on top and to knock 
over the tiny seedlings. 

The ideal place in which to prepare a bed is an old cold- 
frame or hot-bed. Then by the time the seedlings are large 
enough to transplant, other frames in which cucumbers or 
tomatoes may now still be bearing will be empty. If you 



174 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

have no frame available as good results may be had if a 
little trouble is taken to prepare the seed bed properly. It 
should be elevated four or five inches above the soil level, 
to provide perfect drainage — an abundance of moisture is 
essential to success, but too much will prove fatal. The 
bed may be made easily by digging a narrow path round 
it, but more protection will be given if you make a tem- 
porary frame of boards six or eight inches wide sunk into 
the ground far enough to hold and extending a few inches 
above the surface like a low cold-frame. It is not necessary, 
however, to have a slope to the front. The frame need not 
be large — a three-by-six or a four-by-four frame will accom- 
modate fifteen or twenty packets of seed. 

Preparing the Seed Bed 

The soil in this frame should be worked up and made as 
fine and smooth as possible. It should then be topped off 
with two or three inches of specially prepared soil. This 
is necessary because ordinary garden soil dries out or forms 
a crust on the surface that is bad for the very fine seeds to 
be sown, some of them so small that they are merely pressed 
into the soil instead of being covered. 

Procure a quantity of leaf mold or very old, thoroughly 
rotted manure, and mix with some friable garden soil or 
with shavings from the under side of sod. If the soil is 
heavy add a little sand. Work this all together and then 
pass it through a coal sieve so that roots, lumps, small 
stones, and so forth, will be removed and every particle of 
soil will be finely pulverized. Spread this over the surface 
of your bed and press it down lightly with a small piece of 
board; then soak thoroughly with a fine spray. 

When water ceases to soak in let it remain for twelve to 
twenty-four hours to dry out slightly en the surface. Then 
mark off little furrows three to six inches apart and just deep 
enough to be visible. For the smaller seeds the mark is more 
to get them in straight lines than to bury them. When only 
a few seeds are to be sown deep flats may be used. They 



JULY: SECOND WEEK I7S 

should be kept partly buried in the ground, or in a some- 
what shady place until after germination; or a sheet of news- 
paper, moistened, may be placed over the box during the 
day and removed in the afternoon. 

After sowing, the seeds should be covered lightly. Seeds 
the size of pansy seeds or smaller may be pressed in with a 
brick or with the edge of a board and then barely covered 
with a light sprinkling of prepared soil. Larger seeds, such 
as gaillardias and pinks, may be covered a quarter of an 
inch. 

Guard Against Damping Of 

One of the things most likely to cause trouble with the 
little seedHngs, especially in warm, damp weather, is damp- 
ing off. As a preventive sprinkle flowers of sulphur over the 
surface after the seeds are sown. Have a screen to put in 
place over the seed bed or the frame. This may be covered 
with cheesecloth, which lets a little Hght through, or with 
ordinary building laths nailed an inch apart. The frame 
should be supported well above the frame or bed to permit 
free circulation of air. Sometimes sphagnum moss or some 
other light mulch is laid oyer the surface of the soil after 
planting to help keep it cool and moist; if this is done the 
bed should be watched carefully daily and this mulching 
removed when the seeds sprout. If left on even a day too 
long it may result in tall, spindling plants. 

As soon as the little seedlings are well up they should be 
given another thorough watering with a fine spray, as the 
soil will be getting dry and crusted again. Then cultivate 
the surface lightly between the rows and as soon as the first 
true leaves appear thin the seedlings out where they are too 
thick — a dozen strong plants will give you much more sat- 
isfaction than fifty poor ones. The insects that are likely 
to cause trouble to the small seedHngs may be guarded 
against by sprinkling tobacco dust freely over the bed, and 
by spraying occasionally with Bordeaux mixture. 

In four to eight weeks after sowing the seedlings will be 
ready to transplant. Most of them, with protection, will 



176 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

stand the winter in the open ; but the most convenient way 
of carrying them over is to set them a few inches apart each 
way in a cold-frame and transplant them again early in 
spring. 

There will still be several weeks for the little plants to 
grow after this first transplanting and the ground should be 
well enriched. Use plenty of old manure, a Uttle fine bone 
and a very light sprinkling of nitrate of soda. As the frame 
may be dust dry at this time of the year, the best way to get 
it back into shape for planting is to open up ditches with the 
hoe as near together as you can make them, and turn the 
hose in, letting the ditches fill up several times. Then fork 
the ground up and if necessary repeat this operation. Get 
the ground thoroughly soaked so that conditions may be 
just right to induce rapid root growth on the newly set 
plants. 

Pansies, and plants of similar growth, naturally make 
stocky plants, and soon begin to crowd if not transplanted 
as soon as they are large enough. Some things, however, 
will grow up tall and spindling if left long in the seed bed; 
to get good plants they should be transplanted as soon as 
the third or fourth leaf shows. 



July: Third Week 

SUMMER WORK WITH STRAWBERRIES: CARE OF 
THE SPRING PLANTED BED; REMAKING THE 
OLD BED; POTTED PLANTS; STARTING THE 
NEW BED; FALL BEARING STRAWBERRIES 

The home garden should produce an abundance of straw- 
berries. There is Httle danger of having too many, because 
if the bed should happen to get ahead of the immediate 
demand for the table the surplus may easily be saved for 
winter. Rightly managed, a very small space will give an 
ample supply for both purposes. Extra-fine quality should 
be the aim in the home berry patch, and fortunately, with 
this crop, the best quality and the biggest yield go together. 

Berries can be grown in almost any soil, but there is con- 
siderable difference in adaptation of varieties to different 
kinds of soil. In making a new bed it is well to select 
varieties that you know will thrive in soil similar to that 
which you have. When plenty of water is available, how- 
ever, not so much attention need be paid to this. Though 
the berries revel in an abundance of sunshine, and bear 
early on a southern slope, the patch should not be located 
in too sheltered and early a spot, or there will be more 
likeHhood of loss through late frost. Again, irrigation alters 
the case, for it may be used for frost protection, and proper 
handling of the winter mulch is also a safeguard. 

Strawberries are one of the few things that do well on a 
rather acid soil, so avoid ground that has been recently 
nmed. On the other hand, the ground can hardly be made 
too rich. Manure or fertilizer or both should be used freely. 
Only old, well-rotted manure should be selected, and if this 
can be applied to a crop preceding the berries so much the 
better. Of fertilizer, the basic formula, 4-8-10, is the 

177 



178 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

best. It should be thoroughly worked into the soil before 
planting, however, either broadcast or along the row. Fer- 
tihzer used directly under the plants at the time of setting 
is very Hkely to cause injury. 

The system of growing most generally used is the matted 
or soHd row. The hill system has its advocates and its 
advantages, but the suggestions herewith, unless the hill 
system is mentioned, apply to the matted row. With this 
system a new bed is generally made every second year, 
or a smaller one, for the same total amount of space, every 
year, so there will be first and second crop berries each 
season. 

Care of the New Berry Bed 

Often the bed that has grown two or even three crops is 
renewed in the same place. Sometimes the bed must be 
kept in the same spot, and then this practice must be 
followed. Generally it is less work to make a new bed. 
The berry grower, then, finds himself at the end of each 
fruiting season with one or all of several different jobs 
demanding his attention: The care of the bed that has 
just borne its first crop of fruit; the maintenance, if desired, 
of the older bed; the establishing of a new one, and the care 
of the fall or spring planted patch. 

Care of the new bed which has borne for the first time 
depends largely upon the condition in which it has been 
left. If there are only a few weeds these can be pulled out 
or cut off at or just below the surface. Generally, however, 
the quickest and best way is to remove the mulch between 
the rows, taking one row at a time; to give a thorough cul- 
tivation, working in a top-dressing of fertilizer at the same 
time, and then to replace the mulch. 

Another advantage of thus removing the mulch is that 
then the rows can the better be trimmed up to their bounds; 
they should not be over fifteen to eighteen inches wide. 
Runners, or plants that have rooted beyond these Hmits, 
should be cut off; the tendency of almost all plants of all 
varieties is to form too many new plants. If you want good 



JULY; THIRD WEEK 179 

fruit the second season this must be guarded against by 
cutting out a good many of the runners and plants, even in 
the row. The plants should be five or six inches apart in all 
directions for the best results; closer than this, they crowd 
each other for light and air and there is not enough plant 
food to go round, resulting in a crop of undersized, unsatis- 
factory berries. 

Renewing an Old Berry Patch 

When it is necessary or desirable to remake or to con- 
tinue the old bed that has rooted two seasons or more, 
drastic measures must be used. As soon as the last berries 
are picked, cut the rows over close with a scythe or a sickle, 
and rake with an iron rake; do not be afraid of giving 
rough treatment, as it makes little difference how many 
plants are pulled out. Burn the rakings to destroy any eggs 
or disease spores. 

Then go over each row, cutting out the oldest plants and 
most of the new ones. Leave new, strong crowns eight 
to twelve inches apart. A handy tool for this job is the 
small combination hoe and - prong hoe, which has teeth 
on one side and a narrow blade on the other. The blade 
should be well sharpened, so it can be used to cut off run- 
ners and to cut out plants, while the teeth come in handy 
for raking them out after they are cut. 

The result may be a pretty sick-looking, skimpy bed, but 
do not worry about that. Give a good top-dressing of a 
complete fertilizer. This may be broadcast over the plants 
if you give it a thorough watering afterward to wash 
it off the leaves and down into the soil. A light top- 
dressing of nitrate of soda should be given in addition 
to the fertilizer. 

Another method of renewing an old bed is to cultivate 
the passages between the rows; rake them over carefully 
and then root runners from either side. After these are 
established cut them off, and pull out the old rows. 



i8o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Where to Start the New Bed 

The making of a new bed of garden size is not a difficult 
task. The plants, being set out in late July or August, 
usually follow some earlier crop. For best results the ground 
should be as thoroughly prepared as for spring planting. 
If a horse is available thorough cultivation with narrow 
teeth will be the best way of getting the ground into shape; 
or the soil may be turned over with the hand-plow attach- 
ment of the wheel hoe, or forked up. In any case, get it 
fine and loose and mellow. Do not attempt to plant by 
simply digging out holes in which the plants may be set 
in hard-packed soil. The strawberry crop depends almost 
entirely upon the development of the large, fleshy roots 
made the previous season. Only by having the soil in the 
best mechanical condition can best results be obtained. 
Grass or sod ground should be avoided because of the prob- 
ability of injury from white grubs, the larvae of the June 
beetle, which attack the newly set plants. Select, if pos- 
sible, a patch in the garden that was well manured in spring 
and has not been in sod for two or three years. Such a 
soil with a top-dressing before planting of a high-grade 
complete fertilizer — five pounds or so to each one hundred 
square feet — will make a beginning from which an early 
crop may confidently be expected. 

The plants should have a clean bill of health; the most 
frequent cause of injury from disease is planting from in- 
fected plants. They should be young, vigorous and as 
fresh as possible. The roots of plants received by mail 
or express should be still in a fairly moist condition. If 
they are very dry immerse them in water up to but not 
over the crowns. If the stems have not been sufiiciently 
trimmed at the nursery this should be done before they are 
soaked. The best plan is to puddle them in a thin clay-soil 
mud, which will adhere evenly to the roots; removed from 
the puddle and planted promptly, the soil will be brought 
into intimate contact with the roots, favoring a quick 
new start. The leaves, if large, should be trimmed back 




Plate 17. — Making potted strawberry plants. The pot filled with soil is 
sunk level with the surface and the runner held in place with a clothes pin or 
small stone. {Lower) In taking up rooted runners for setting out a new 
strawberry bed, get all the roots and soil possible. Avoid diseased plants 
with purplish discoloration of the lea.ves like that shown at the right of 
picture. 




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JULY: THIRD WEEK i8l 

and any that show the slightest trace of blight or leaf spots 
should be removed; it is better if all such plants are im- 
mediately discarded. 

In setting the plants, three things should be kept in mind : 
Set on a freshly prepared surface; get the plants in firmly; 
cover them well up to but not over the crowns. If irrigation 
is available get the soil fairly moist before planting, then 
give a thorough watering after the plants are in. 

Getting Plants for the New Bed 

To root your own supply of plants, select only good 
healthy vines, and work the ground into good condition, 
just as the runners start, so they will have a congenial 
place in which to establish themselves. The first or tip 
plants from the runners and the first one or two runners 
thrown out by the plant are usually the strongest and are 
ready the earliest. 

To get ideal plants — those which with proper care will 
give a full crop of the largest berries the first spring after 
planting — buy or root for yourself potted plants. These 
cost more and are a Httle more trouble to get or to produce, 
but they are worth the difference. Good potted plants of 
the standard varieties cost about three cents apiece. To 
produce them from the old bed all that is required is a 
supply of small pots. The soil is made mellow, as for or- 
dinary layer plants, the pots are filled with earth and sunk 
to the rims, and the runners are held in place over them with 
small stones, small twigs or clothes pins, so that they will 
not be blown out of position. 

''Matted Row'' vs. ''Hiir System 

In planting for the matted row, the rows are marked off 
two or three feet apart and the plants are set from twelve 
to eighteen inches apart in the rows. When new runners 
start these are rooted between and to the sides of the original 
plants until a solid mat some fifteen to eighteen inches 



i82 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

wide is established. The plants in the mat should not be 
closer than five or six inches. 

For the hill system of cultivation the plants should be 
set twelve to fifteen inches apart each way in beds of two 
to four rows, with eighteen or twenty-four inch paths be- 
tween the beds. To achieve success with hill culture it is 
necessary that all runners be cut off as soon as they appear 
in the fall after planting. For this reason the plants should 
be set out as soon as possible, preferably in July, and surely 
not later than mid-August. In rich soil with plenty of 
moisture and good cultivation the plant will have a solid 
bushy crown nearly a foot across ready to produce a splendid 
crop of fruit the following June. 

Fall Fruiting Strawberries 

In setting out new plants do not fail to include a few of 
the fall-fruiting or ever-bearing varieties, which have 
now been developed to a point where the fruit is of really 
fine quality and of good size. Progressive and Superb are 
the two best varieties of this type yet introduced. They are 
quite distinct and it would be well to plant a few of each. 
Plants set out now will fruit next June, but for a big fall 
supply the blossoms should be picked off the first part of 
the summer. 

The mulch should not be appHed until after the ground 
freezes, but it is well to make provision for it early in the 
fall. Clean marsh hay may be obtained in many localities, 
and there is nothing better. It is free from weed seeds and 
does not blow about so much as straw, nor pack down like 
leaves or strawy manure. In northern sections three to 
five inches of mulch is advisable. Even where it is not 
necessary for winter and spring protection of the plants, 
the mulch is of use the following season in keeping the ber- 
ries clean and conserving the soil moisture. 



July: Fourth Week 

LINKING THE GARDEN TO THE HOUSE: SUMMER 
HOUSES; PERGOLAS; TRELLISES; VINES TO 
COVER THEM 

Just as a home is more than a house, so the garden should 
be more than beds of vegetables and flowers. It should 
have individuality and character; should be a place that 
seems inviting, in which provision is made for resting as 
well as for work. 

Some of the things that give a garden attractiveness of 
this kind are arbors, pergolas, summer houses, garden seats, 
sundials, and so on. Many kinds of garden furniture may 
be bought, but there is almost always more satisfaction in 
making the things yourself. 

The pergola may be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. 
It should, of course, be in keeping with the architectural 
style of the house. Though primarily made for beauty, 
it has a utilitarian purpose in furnishing shade or serving 
as a support for a grapevine or rose bush. The lumber 
may be bought ready sawed or planed, or even unsawed 
posts may be used. 

A home-made pergola of round unsawed chestnut, most 
of the material for which was supplied by the home wood 
lot, is shown in illustration Plate 15. This pergola ex- 
tended from the house to the barn, and a small summer 
house was built into it halfway, making a delightful rest 
room for hot summer days. In many places a pergola 
over the path from the house to the garage or tool shed, 
with an open summer house Hke this, would be a constant 
pleasure throughout the summer. 

The posts in this instance are set five by eight feet. The 
posts are eight feet long and are somewhat smaller than 

183 



1 84 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



ordinary fence posts. Cedar posts would be even more 
attractive. The costs of posts would probably vary from 
ten to twenty-five cents each. With the uprights set eight 
feet apart, the crosspieces on top may be placed either 




ELEVATION 





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SIDE DETAIL 




twenty-four or thirty- two inches apart. These should be 
seven feet long. The stringers upon which the crosspieces 
rest should be eight feet long and should be slightly notched 
to hold the crosspieces. An auger post- hole digger is gener- 
ally the most convenient tool with which to set the posts. 



A Gas-Pipe Pergola 

An excellent support for a grapevine and one that will 
last practically forever can be made of secondhand gas 
pipe instead of wood. Clamp fittings will save threading the 



JULY: FOURTH WEEK 



185 



pipe. The uprights should be an inch and a half, the string- 
ers an inch and a quarter and the crosspieces one-inch 
pipe; although a size smaller in each case would stand up 
for all ordinary purposes. The uprights should be sup- 
ported on flat stones or bricks, or set in concrete. Second- 
hand gas or water pipe can often be bought very cheap. 
The fittings may be obtained from a greenhouse-supply 
company, and the only tools necessary to set up the per- 
gola, if the pipe has been cut the proper lengths, will be a 
couple of monkey wrenches. If a support for grapes or 
roses is wanted a pergola of this kind will be found neat, 
cheap, durable and strong. 




A Simple Inexpensive Summer House 

Desirable as a pergola is, a small summer house will 
probably give more satisfaction and comfort for the money. 
A simple form of such a house is shown in 
illustration Plate 15. The floor is of summer house 
planed boards, matched, supported on two- ^.e?^^ 
by-four-inch stringers; the roof is of rough \'' 
square-edged boards, covered with a good 
grade of roofing paper. If preferred, 
shingles may be used. 

The roof in this case is supported by 
round unsawed posts of chestnut, although 
cedar or cypress could be substituted to 
advantage. The posts are set firmly into 
the ground six feet apart in a twelve- 
foot circle. 

Six two-by-four-inch stringers to sup- 
port the floor are spaced two feet apart 
and the flooring is run at right angles to 
them. Six two-by-four-inch stringers sup- 
port the roof, which pitches three feet from center to 
eaves. To make the roof sufficiently stiff furring strips 
of one-by-two-inch stuff are put between the rafters. 

On one side two uprights form a door frame. Slabs are 




FLOOR PLAN 



l86 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

run round part way up to stiffen the screen cloth or netting. 
The cost of the material, not including the screen cloth, is 
about as follows: 

6 posts. $0.75 

200 feet 2 by 4's 2.75 

250 feet board 5 . 00 

100 feet furring i . 00 

2 rolls roofing paper 5 . 00 

Nails, etc 50 

Total.. $15.00 

Another form of small summer house, costing only part 
of the above, can be made by erecting the framework of 
the house described and using hardy vines or rapid-growing 
annuals to cover it. The outlay in this case would be very 
small. 

Protect the Trellis from Rot 

Trellises are made in all shapes and sizes. Small ones 
of iron and galvanized wire will outlast a dozen wooden 
ones, but in many cases, wooden trellises are still desir- 
able both because of cheapness and because they can be 
made of the exact size and shape desired. The two mistakes 
generally made in building trellises are leaving them un- 
protected where they enter the ground and building them 
too close to the house. 

If the woodwork is protected where it enters the ground 
and an occasional coat of paint is given, a trelKs will last 
indefinitely. The best and most permanent footing can be 
made of a few short pieces of angle iron, wi h holes at one 
end, bolted to the wooden uprights. These may be driven 
into the ground or set in concrete. They should extend a 
foot or so above ground, so the wood will be well above 
any grass or mulching that might collect moisture and cause 
rotting. 

If this is too much trouble at least reenforce the base 
by driving down extra pieces, or by naiHng or bolting the 



JULY: FOURTH WEEK 



187 



trellis to an extra-heavy foot piece, and giving the whole 
base, before it is put into the ground, a coating of wood 
preservative or heavy tar paint. 



Vines for Pergolas and Trellises; Sundials 

The grapevine is not half appreciated for use on trellises 
about the porch; its big leaves furnish summer-long shade 
and in addition there ^ 



Ground . 



. Line 



V V 
REINFORCED TRELLIS FOOTING 




ANGLE-IRON FOOTING 
FOR TRELLIS 



is fruit in the fall. Two 
by seven- eighths-inch 
furring, which may be 
bought in bundles of 
fifty feet at any build- 
er's makes ideal mater- 
ial for trellis work. The 
main supports should 
be made of heavier 
s t u ff , measuring at 
least two by two inches 
or two by three inches. 
A simple form of con- 
struction is shown in 
the accompanying cut. 
Much of the success 
to be had with vines, 
climbing roses, and so 
forth, used to cover 
pergolas, arbors, trel- 
lises, summer houses, 
and the like, will depend upon the preparation of the soil in 
which the things are planted. Frequently the soil has not 
been used for garden purposes and is very poor. When you 
are building it will take very little more time to dig 
out and properly prepare a bed for planting. Dig out to 
a depth of a foot and a half, saving the good soil to 
use again and discarding the subsoil and litter. Fill in 
with good earth well enriched with manure and coarse 



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VERANDA TRELUS 



1 88 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

ground or knuckle bone. If the soil is heavy or the sub- 
soil is hard a layer of gravel, coal ashes, old plaster or 
similar things should be placed at the bottom for drainage. 

A sun dial almost always adds to the attractiveness of 
the formal or semiformal garden. But it should not be 
left to stick up by itself. If the pedestal is tall some half- 
climbing plant may be trained about it. Baby-rambler 
roses are especially attractive for use about the sun dial, 
as they bloom continuously and are very hardy. 

Unless the garden is formal, a field bowlder of suitable 
shape and size, nicely weathered, and if possible put in 
position without disturbing the lichens, will make a much 
more suitable support for the sun dial than will a formal 
pedestal. 



July: Fifth Week 

CROPS THAT MAKE THE GARDEN RICH: '^ GREEN 
MANURING;" '^SOIL BINDERS" FOR WINTER 
COVER; INOCULATING TO INSURE SUCCESS 

The gardener who can buy, at a reasonable price, all the 
stable manure he needs, is the exception. Most gardeners 
these days are compelled to rely upon commercial fertil- 
izers to enrich their gardens. It frequently happens that 
these are found to give good results for two or three years, 
only to be followed by decreasing yields and soil that 
packs hard or cakes. The reason is that when you turn 
under a good coating of manure in your garden, you add 
not only the various plant foods — nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid and potash — but also a large amount of decayed or 
decaying vegetable matter, or humus, and millions of tiny 
garden helpers in the form of friendly bacteria which at- 
tack the inert stores of plant food in the soil, making them 
available for use. 

Some of these microscopic bugs have a special faculty of 
absorbing nitrogen from the air, making it available for 
the crop upon whose roots they house, and for other crops 
that may follow. The nitrogen-fixing bacteria live upon 
the roots of the legumes — peas, beans, vetches and clovers. 

A large number of crops may be utilized to make the 
ground richer. As fast as a strip of ground is cleared, even 
if it is but a single row, it should be sown to a cover crop 
to be spaded under next spring. Besides adding humus and 
making conditions favorable to the development of bac- 
teria, there are several advantages in having a growing crop 
on the ground throughout the winter. Such a crop forages 
the lower layers of the soil for food that most of the vege- 
table plants cannot reach, and brings it to the surface; it 

189 



I90 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

captures remnants of plant food that would leach away 
during the winter, and holds them in storage until they are 
required again next summer. Whenever possible one of the 
legume crops should be given preference. Which is best 
for a particular job will depend upon conditions. If the 
ground is not to be utilized again until the spring, one of the 
hardy kinds, which will continue growth until after the 
ground is frozen hard and will begin again before it is thor- 
oughly thawed, should be selected. 

Crops for Green Manuring 

If the ground is to be planted or trenched again this fall, 
there is still time to grow a heavy covering of beans, soy 
beans, cowpeas or field peas. The last named are the hard- 
iest and will stand light freezing. If you have a horse or a 
cow any of these may be fed green or cured for hay, while 
the stubble and the roots improve the mechanical condition 
of the soil and add humus and nitrogen. 

Rye and vetch sown after early potatoes or sweet corn, 
or some other crop harvested by early autumn, can be 
allowed to mature enough to make hay the following spring, 
before the later vegetables, such as tomatoes, melons and 
cucumbers, need to be planted. 

Field peas are quite similar to the ordinary, climbing 
garden peas. When they are to be allowed to get their 
full growth oats or rye should be sown with them to furnish 
a support. There are several varieties: Canada peas are 
the hardiest; the marrowfats are of more luxuriant growth. 
A peck will plant a piece fifty by fifty feet, if they are to be 
spaded under. To mature, fewer would be required. 

Cowpeas are more like beans than peas. New Era is a 
rapid-growing variety; a peck will be sufficient for a plot 
fifty by a hundred feet. Soy beans somewhat resemble 
garden beans, but grow very much larger. A good method 
of utilizing these is to have a supply on hand, and interplant 
them with other crops that will mature within two or three 
weeks. Planted in this way, between the rows of sweet 



JULY: FIFTH WEEK 191 

corn, early potatoes, lettuce, radishes, and so forth, the 
beans will have the ground well covered soon after the 
other crops are off, with a valuable supply of humus-forming 
material to be turned under just before killing frosts. They 
mature in about a hundred days, but for spading under 
they may be sown now. Plant as you would ordinary dwarf 
beans. 

Two other late-summer catch crops of value on the home 
acre are dwarf Essex rape and buckwheat. Rape is one of 
the quickest-growing of all catch crops, and when a supply 
of green feed can be utihzed late in the summer by a cow, a 
pig, a horse or even chickens, a supply of seed should be 
kept on hand and sown in any vacant rows or between rows 
of nearly matured vegetables. The seed costs only twelve 
to fifteen cents a pound and two or three pounds will be 
ample for use in this way. Under favorable conditions the 
crop will be big enough to use within six to eight weeks 
after sowing. 

If bees are kept, or there are chickens to be fed, a small 
patch of buckwheat should be put in. For the bees a few 
rows through the garden will answer. For mature grain 
it should be sown at once; for a winter mulch, sown with 
crimson clover, or for spading under this fall, it may be 
sown at any time during the next two or three weeks. 

^^Soil Binders'^ for Winter Cover 

If your soil is Hkely to wash or to blow, any parts of the 
garden that are growing late crops should be planted as 
soon as they are cleared this fall with crimson clover, vetch 
and rye, or rye alone. In latitudes north of New York the 
clover is Hable to winter-kill, although this can be guarded 
against to some extent by sowing buckwheat with it. A 
pound of seed, costing about fifteen cents, will be plenty for 
a fifty-by-fifty-foot patch. It will be ready to cut green 
for the family cow or to spade under early in May. If 
crimson clover may be killed, vetch should be used. Either 
one may be sown for three or four weeks yet, but the earlier 



192 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

the better, particularly in the case of the clover, as the roots 
are better protected if it has a chance to make considera- 
ble growth before hard freezing. For a fifty-by-iifty-foot 
patch about four pounds of vetch seed will be required, 
with about half that amount of rye or wheat. 

The vetch may be sown as late as early October, but to 
be ready to fork under early in spring it should be put in in 
August or early September. A good way is to sow it with 
the seed drill between the rows of maturing vegetables. 
Rye will make a good start and come safely through even 
severe winters when sown after the last hardy vegetables 
have been taken up in late October or November. Use 
a peck or so of seed for a fifty-by-fifty-foot space. 

At that time of the year there is likely to be continuous 
dry weather. Sow in ground that has been specially dug 
or cultivated. Get the seed well firmed in; roll with as 
heavy a roller as possible when the seed is sown broadcast. 
It is of importance, too, to have strong, fresh seed. If you 
buy locally get seed with a name behind it. 

Assure Success by Inoculation 

Success with the various legumes cannot be made certain, 
even when good seed is used and conditions are favorable, 
unless the bacteria that live upon the particular kind of 
plants to be sown are present in the soil. 

When a crop of the same kind has been grown on your 
piece of ground, even if a number of years before, the soil 
will usually be found all right in this respect. But when a 
new thing is to be used artificial inoculation may be em- 
ployed, at very Httle cost, to make success more sure. Soil 
in which plants of the same kind have been grown will 
answer the purpose. It should be freshly dug, kept from 
the sunlight, applied on a cloudy day or late in the after- 
noon, and immediately harrowed or raked in; otherwise, 
the bacteria may be killed in the operation. A peck or 
two will make an ample dressing for a fifty-by-fifty-foot 
plot. 



JULY: FIFTH WEEK 193 

Inoculation with artificial cultures has now come into 
general use. Like many other of the newer methods, you 
will find that it is very simple. 

The bacteria are kept and transported in a "medium" or 
jelly, which must be diluted according to direction and 
spread over the seeds, which are then thoroughly mixed 
so that each one receives a thin coating of the solution. The 
bacteria, which live and work upon the roots, are ready to 
take up their abode immediately the plant germinates. 
Prepared "humus" is now used as a "container" for these 
bacteria, and will keep longer than the jelly mediums. 

Usually where one kind of clover has been grown others 
can be started without any trouble. But when you plant 
things which you have not grown in your garden before, 
such as winter vetch, soy beans, cowpeas or alfalfa, or for 
garden peas and beans, if you do not seem to have success 
with them, get a small bottle of the bacteria and inoculate 
your seed before planting. 

As in the case of the bacteria in the soil, those in the ar- 
tificial culture are very quickly injured by exposure to the 
bright sunshine or to any drjdng wind. The seed should not 
be treated until you are all ready to plant. 



August : First Week 

GETTING HOUSE PLANTS READY FOR WINTER 
BLOOM: NEW PLANTS FROM SEEDS AND 
CUTTINGS; SUMMER CARE OF POTTED 
PLANTS; PLANTS FROM THE GARDEN FOR 
WINTER FLOWERING; MAKING NEW RUB- 
BER PLANTS 

The success of next winter's window garden depends to a 
very great extent upon what you do with your plants now. 
Any plant that is to be forced, or grown under unnatural 
conditions, must be carefully prepared for the extra tax 
put upon it. 

Several classes of plants are available for winter use. 
There are the regular house plants, which are carried over 
from year to year and are kept solely for this purpose; there 
are new plants, obtained now and put into shape for the 
winter's work; and there are some outdoor garden plants 
that are suitable for continued use indoors when their 
duties in the open flower beds are over. In addition, when 
one has a small greenhouse or hot-bed available for spring 
use, a few of some of the bedding plants may be kept over 
for stock plants, from which to obtain cuttings early next 
spring. 

It is not difficult to obtain all the plants for which there is 
likely to be room in the house, and to have them in the best 
of shape, if the work is taken in hand now. Usually this 
work is left until the last minute, when choice is limited, and 
most of the plants wanted are lost through a too sudden 
change from outdoor to indoor conditions. Plants for use 
this winter may be propagated now from cuttings or seeds 
and will make thrifty young plants that will give ideal 
results; small plants may be bought now from the florist at a 

194 




Plate 19. — Modern methods of blanching celery in the home garden greatly 
simplify the work of growing it. Late celery for use until Christmas or so, 
can be stored and blanched as in the lower photograph. 




Plate 20. — Saving a summer plant for winter bloom. Cut carefully 
about the ball of roots before lifting it; and then prune the top back severely, 
as in the lower picture, before potting it. 



AUGUST: FIRST WEEK 195 

fraction of the price that will have to be paid a few months 
hence; or some of the plants that were set out in the garden 
last spring may be taken up and potted now. 

Of these several methods the most difficult is to take up 
plants from the garden and make pot plants of them. Yet 
this method has several advantages. The plants cost noth- 
ing, you may select those of good shape, health and strength, 
and in any particular color and variety. With plants 
grown from mixed seed these last points are important. 

^^ Potting up " from the Garden 

To be sure of saving the plant and to give it the least set- 
back in transplanting, the process should cover two or three 
weeks. With a sharp trowel or a long-bladed knife cut a 
half or a third round the plant, with the blade slanted in 
toward the root; the circle formed in this preUminary root 
pruning should be a little smaller than the inside circum- 
ference of the pot to which the plant is to be transferred— 
usually a four, five or six inch one. At the same time re- 
move any buds or blossoms there may be, and cut back the 
plant quite severely, removing some of the oldest growth. 
Later make another cut round the plant. After two or three 
operations take out the plant carefully, cutting off clean all 
the long roots underneath. Give a thorough soaking some 
hours before 'lifting" the plant, if the soil is dry. Then 
pot up carefully and keep in partial shade, under a tree or 
on the veranda, for a week or so. Cutting the roots in ad- 
vance of potting gives the plant a chance to recover from 
the shock and also to form the feeding new roots that must 
be produced before it can establish itself in the pot. 

Old plants that are kept from year to year should receive 
treatment according to their kind. Those that flower in 
winter should be rested during the first part of the summer, 
but started into more active growth about this time so they 
will be in the pink of condition for the beginning of the 
winter season. They may be cut back quite severely, leav- 
ing a framework of strong wood upon which the new growth 



196 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

of foKage and flowers is to be produced. Unless they were 
repotted in the spring they should be shifted now, and 
usually it is best to use a pot only one size larger. 

Summer Care of Potted Plants 

During hot weather the plants will thrive better if the 
pots are sunk up to the rims in the ground under a tree or 
where they will be in the shade at midday. Two-thirds of 
the work of watering may be saved in this way, and the 
soil kept more evenly moist. To prevent the plants' rooting 
through into the soil below, a small cork or wooden plug may 
be put into the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot, 
leaving just enough of an opening so that all surplus water 
can drain out. 

A cone-shaped plunger, five or six inches across the top 
and tapering to a sharp point, with a handle attached, 
should be used to make the holes in which the pots are 
placed. This will save a great deal of work, will make a 
hole of any diameter, and will leave a small air space di- 
rectly under each pot, preventing soil worms from working 
up into the pot and providing better drainage and free 
access of air to the roots. The pots should be turned occa- 
sionally to prevent the plants from getting one-sided and 
to break off any roots that may have grown down into the 
soil. 

New Plants from Seeds and Cuttings 

Plants from seeds or from cuttings started now will be 
large enough for three or four inch pots and will be in prime 
condition by winter. To start the seeds, prepare a small 
bed either in a partly shaded place or where a temporary 
screen of some sort may be made. Water copiously before 
planting, and cover the seeds lightly. As soon as the seeds 
are well up and in the third or fourth leaf transplant to flats 
or small, individual pots. 

The soil for the pots must be so rich as to carry several 
months' food supply in a very limited space, porous enough 



AUGUST: FIRST WEEK 197 

SO that water will drain through it readily, and well sup- 
plied with lime so it will not sour. Make a compost of about 
equal parts of friable garden loam or sod shavings and 
thoroughly decomposed manure. Old manure from the 
hot-beds, or emptyings from flats, is best. If the soil is very 
heavy, mix with it a Httle sand. A good dressing of wood 
ashes, which contain enough lime to keep the mixture thor- 
oughly sweet, should be added, and also some bone dust. 
Two or three quarts of wood ashes and a pint or so of ground 
bone may be added to each bushel of the compost. This 
soil should be kept in a shed or in a barrel and soaked occa- 
sionally to keep it at an even degree of moisture. 

Cuttings may be rooted readily at this time of the year, 
but care must be taken that they do not dry out. A con- 
venient method is to mix half a bushel or a bushel of sand in 
a few square feet of the seed bed and to place the cuttings 
in this, keeping them shaded lightly overhead all the time, 
but with a free access for air. Trim the cuttings back well, 
as loss of water through transpiration is very great at this 
time of the year. 

In starting a few dozen plants the saucer system is the 
most convenient: Take a shallow, water-tight dish and put 
in three inches of clean sand. Add water until it comes 
barely to the surface of the sand. Insert the cuttings in this. 
The sand must be kept thoroughly saturated, which will 
mean adding water every day in hot or windy weather. 

Making New Rubber Plants 

Rubber plants that have become too tall or have become 
leafless at the bottoms of the stalks may be made over by 
what is termed Chinese layering, or rooting in the air: 
Select a point in the stem several inches below the lowest 
leaves, or wherever the remaining upper portion of the stalk 
will make a shapely plant, and with a sharp knife make a 
slanting cut two-thirds through. Place in this cut a Httle 
live sphagnum moss, which can be gathered in most swampy 
places, or obtained from any local florist. Bind on with soft 



igS AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

twine or cloth strips a small piece of shingle or something 
similar, to hold the stem in its original position; otherwise 
it is likely to get knocked or blown over. 

After a few days take out the moss, wash the wound care- 
fully to remove as much as possible of the congealed milky 
sap, insert fresh moss, and then tie about it, extending 
several inches above and below, a ball of moss which will be 
several inches in diameter when finished. Old strips of 
sheeting an inch and a half in width are convenient for this 
purpose. This ball should be kept moist at all times, but 
do not use very cold water. 

New roots will have formed in a few weeks. Then the 
moss should be carefully removed enough to finish the cut. 
Pot up the plant, using soil that is thoroughly moist but not 
wet. Keep in the shade and syringe dail}^ for a few days, 
but do not water the soil again until it begins to get dry. 

Another method is to saw a pot in two lengthwise, put 
some soil in it and clamp the two halves over the moss 
round the wound, letting roots go through into the soil so 
that the new plant is well established in the pot before the 
stem is completely severed. The old stem should be cut 
back to within a few inches of the ground, which will in- 
duce it to throw out side branches to form a spreading, 
bush-shaped plant, or material for new plants. 

Mid-summer Potting 

The work of potting may be greatly faciHtated by having 
a low bench or table in a shady place. This bench should 
be three feet wide, waist high and long enough to accommo- 
date several flats on each end, the middle being occupied by 
soil for potting, pots, and so forth. New pots should be 
soaked for half a day or so before using. Old pots should be 
thoroughly cleansed; let them soak for a day, then scrub 
with a cheap bristle brush and a supply of clean, gritty 
sand. 

House plants that have been kept for a number of years 
may be given a new lease of life by taking them out of the 



AUGUST: FIRST WEEK 199 

pots, carefully soaking all the soil from about the roots, and 
repotting in fresh, new soil in pots of the same size. They 
should be quite severely cut back at the same time. 

Overwatering at the time of transplanting, even in hot 
weather, should be avoided. Until the new root system is 
well established the amount of water that the plant can take 
up is greatly limited. Sprinkling the tops, on the other 
hand, reduces the tax put upon the roots during this time. 

Frequent syringing with clear, cold water, using as much 
force as possible, is one of the most important points in 
keeping the plants in a fresh, healthy, disease and insect 
free condition during the summer. Sharp watch should be 
kept for insect enemies, and tobacco dust or kerosene emul- 
sion used at the first appearance. 



August : Second Week 

MAKING A NEW LAWN; REMAKING AN OLD ONE; 
PEONIES TO PLANT NOW 

The lawn is the most conspicuous and permanent feature 
of the place. To avoid future trouble and expense, it should 
be well made at the beginning. Where the summers are hot 
and dry the best time to make new lawns or to remake old 
ones is in August or September, so that the newly started 
grass will have the benefit of fall rains, and yet have time 
to become well estabHshed before winter. When spring- 
sown lawns have not been wholly successful they should 
be tuned up early in the autumn, so they will go into winter 
in good condition. 

In making a new lawn both the particular conditions that 
exist in each case, and the probable expense, should be care- 
fully considered. Any set of directions followed blindly 
may get one into serious trouble, for varieties of grass and 
methods of soil preparation that are all right for one place 
or climate may be all wrong for others. Immediate results 
are often possible only at considerable cash outlay, espe- 
cially if the lawn is large. A gradual method of lawn build- 
ing, giving satisfactory results in the end, would mean a 
very considerable saving. 

Take, as an illustration, the grounds about a newly built 
house: The soil, though probably fairly good in latent pos- 
sibilities, has become run down, is without humus, and is 
covered with heaps of raw soil thrown out from the cellar 
excavation. If you could give the landscape gardener free 
hand he would have all this poor soil removed, together with 
six inches of unsuitable topsoil and subsoil, and fill in with 
ashes or gravelly soil for drainage, and good loam. When 
he was through he would have the foundation for a fine 

200 



AUGUST: SECOND WEEK 20I 

lawn, but his bill — even loam and gravel count up when you 
buy them by the cubic yard — would be apt to cause some 
hesitation on the part of the average man. 

Fortunately another course is possible. Poor drainage, 
due to a hard subsoil, may be improved with dynamite at 
very little expense. Half-stick charges, placed in holes ten 
to twenty feet apart each way, will open up the whole sub- 
structure of the soil. The poorest part of the excavated soil 
should be carted away or used for filling in depressions. The 
rest should be spread about, and plowed under as deeply 
as the topsoil will permit. A good coat of rotted manure 
should be harrowed in, and unless this has been put on two 
or three inches thick a dressing of high-grade fertilizer 
should be added. 

Start with a Good Soil 

If the soil is very poor, or if manure cannot be obtained, 
it will be better not to attempt to seed to grass at once, but 
to improve the soil first. This does not necessitate untidy 
appearance. Sown to rye and vetch, or to crimson clover, 
the place will be green all fall and early next spring. This 
crop may be plowed under in April or May, and the lawn 
made then; or a summer green crop may be grown, such as 
millet or oats, to be turned under in August or September. 
By this method even very poor soil can be put into good 
condition, with only one season's delay and at a saving of 
some hundreds of dollars for each acre of lawn. 

Different types of soil require different treatment. The 
three types usually encountered are sandy or gravelly loam, 
loam, or clay. The sandy loam needs humus, which may 
be supplied by turning under green crops; or prepared 
humus may be bought by the ton. Heavy rolHng to com- 
pact the soil after plowing and harrowing is desirable. 

With a naturally good loam success is easy, provided the 
drainage is all right. The subsoil should be examined, and 
if necessary dynamited or tile drained. When the lay of 
the land is such that good natural drainage exists below 



202 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

a layer of impervious subsoil, a moderate dynamiting 
will do. 

The drainage of a clay soil should be attended to first. 
The topsoil may be improved and Hghtened by the Hberal 
use of lime and manure. Coal ashes or sand, if available at 
a reasonable price, may be incorporated by shallow plowing 
or forking. Heavy rolHng should be avoided. 

All these methods are in the nature of preliminary work, 
affecting mostly the physical condition of the soil. It may 
seem Kke unnecessary trouble to remake your soil before you 
begin making your lawn, but as a matter of fact it is saving 
trouble for future years. Anything that will tend to insure 
permanent success from your first sowing will be worth 
while. 

Preparing the Soil for Planting 

Fertilizing is another problem, and a double-barreled one. 
It is desirable to give the young grass strong, quick growth, 
and also to incorporate in the soil a supply of plant food that 
will last for years. For the latter result a supply of high- 
grade complete fertilizer should be added to the soil when 
it is being harrowed or raked. The quick-acting plant food 
should be incorporated with the compost or top-dressing 
used upon the surface, to be immediately available for the 
sprouting seed. 

Almost all new lawns should be heavily limed. Even 
when the soil is not more acid than is desirable, the physical 
effect upon either sandy or clay soils is worth the cost. 
Raw ground limestone is the best form for general use. 
Wood ashes are desirable, but when a large lawn is to be 
made it is cheaper to buy lime and potash in other forms. 
In buying ready-mixed fertilizer, a 3-8-10 formula will be 
suitable. The low percentage of nitrogen is made up for by 
the nitrogen added in the top-dressing and by an annual 
dressing thereafter. The soil should be thoroughly pul- 
verized by harrowing and raking. 

The eventual success of the lawn depends to such a great 
extent upon giving the grass plants a quick, strong start that 



AUGUST: SECOND WEEK 203 

it will always pay to give in addition to this dressing of fer- 
tilizer a top-dressing of compost, rich in available nitrogen 
and in humus that will help to maintain an adequate supply 
of moisture near the surface. A compost soil such as is used 
in the greenhouse or for the flower beds, with the addition of 
two quarts of pulverized sheep manure to the bushel, will do. 

Otherwise, a quickly prepared compost may be made as 
follows: Half a cubic yard of good garden loam or topsoil; 
500 pounds of prepared humus; 25 pounds of hydra ted lime; 
15 to 25 pounds of fine ground bone; 15 to 25 pounds of pul- 
verized sheep manure. These should be thoroughly mixed 
together and left in a compact pile for about a week; when 
screened the material will be ready for top-dressing. If the 
soil where the lawn is to be made is wet or heavy, substitute 
medium coarse sand for loam in the compost. This amount 
of compost will top-dress a lawn about forty by forty feet. 

If the soil, after filling in and preparing, is so soft and loose 
that the foot sinks into it, it should be rolled before being 
given the final harrowing or raking preparatory to sowing. 

Use Plenty of Good Seed 

Sowing should be done preferably on a quiet day, as it is 
highly important to get an even distribution of seed. When 
everything is ready, however, particularly if there is promise 
of a rain, it is usually better not to wait. Even with the 
wind blowing, the seed can be put on quite evenly if the 
lawn is marked off into sections. A quick way of doing this 
is to take a Httle ground limestone or land plaster in an old 
watering can, marking out sections. To make doubly sure, 
it is best to divide the seed and make two sowings, the 
second at right angles to the first. After sowing, rake the 
seed in evenly and gently with an iron rake and give a 
fairly heavy rolling. See illustration Plate 21. 

The greatest possible care should be exercised in buying 
grass seed. For a large lawn it will usually pay to make 
your own mixture. For the average lawn the most satisfac- 
tory way is to purchase a ready-made mixture, but buy 



204 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

from a thoroughly reliable source. The quality of the seed 
may be judged to a large extent by the weight — average 
seed weighs from thirteen to sixteen pounds a bushel, while 
really first-class seed should weigh between twenty and 
twenty-four pounds. Be sure, however, that this extra 
weight is not due to an excess of clover seed. 

Use plenty of seed. One of the most general mistakes in 
lawn making is trying to save on this item. An abundance 
of seed means not only quicker results, but surer results, 
and a lawn of much finer texture. Though as little as three 
bushels to the acre is often sown, eight bushels is none too 
much for immediate and certain results. The condition of 
the soil, the quaHty of the seed and the weather are factors 
that influence the amount to be used. As an acre contains 
about 43,500 square feet, the proportional amounts of seed 
for small lawns can readily be figured. 

Watering and Cutting 

Provision for copious watering should be made. An or- 
dinary lawn sprinkler will answer, but remember that if 
water is applied at all it should be in sufficient quantities to 
wet thoroughly three or four inches of soil. Lighter water- 
ings, which are so frequently given to ''freshen up" the 
appearance of the lawn, are injurious, as they keep the 
young seedKngs rooting near the surface, where they are 
most subject to injury from drought. 

Do not be in any hurry to make the first cutting. Let the 
grass get several inches high. Then do not cut it close. 
For the first two or three times simply cut off the top, and 
the cuttings, unless heavy enough to mat down the grass, 
may be left where they fall. After that the machine may 
be shut down closer, but the lawn should never be shaved. 
Many people make the mistake of cutting the grass too 
short. This exposes the roots to injury. Do not cut the 
new lawn late in the fall; leave a generous grass mulch for 
winter protection. 

Next to watering and regular cutting, rolling is the most 



AUGUST: SECOND WEEK 205 

important item in maintaining a good lawn. A modern 
t3qDe of water-ballast roller, which can be made any desired 
weight, is preferable. 

Renewing an Old Lawn 

When a lawn is run down the question is always whether 
it will be better and cheaper to renew it or to remake it. 
If the trouble is neglect, surface remedies may be sufficient; 
if it has petered out in spite of fairly good care, the trouble 
probably lies in the substructure, and only remaking it will 
put it into good shape. Doctoring up a lawn made on a 
poorly built foundation is merely throwing away money 
and work. 

When the lawn is bare in patches, although the rest of it 
seems to be in fairly good condition, fork up the bad spots, 
incorporating fine, well-rotted manure, or compost, and 
sow thickly with a mixture suitable to your climate and 
conditions. The back of the spade can be used instead of 
the roller for firming down remade spots. At the same 
time, go over the remainder of the lawn, after cutting it 
quite close, with a steel rake and give it a vigorous combing, 
loosening up the soil about the roots. Give this a generous 
top-dressing with compost to which seed has been added. 
Then give a thorough watering. 

When the lawn remains ragged looking in spite of care, 
with apparently a good condition of soil, the trouble is 
usually caused by weeds or undesirable grasses. In some 
lawns, particularly in the Northern States, there is too much 
clover, sometimes the result of improperly mixed seed, some- 
times from volunteer plants. 

Uneven or rough lawns can usually be leveled up by filling 
the hollows with good soil. If this is put on just after the 
grass has been cut, and is not made too deep, the original 
grass will come up through it; otherwise reseeding will be 
necessary. Care should be taken to put this soil on in layers 
of not more than two or three inches, and beat each succes- 
sive layer down firmly with the spade. 

It sometimes happens, particularly in rather heavy soils, 



2o6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

that lawns that have been regularly treated with a heavy 
roller begin to suffer from what is called ''surface cohesion." 
The remedy is the use of a spiked tamper or roller which 
perforates the sod, making small holes every few inches. 
These admit air and moisture and the plants are stimulated 
to new growth. 

Peonies to Plant in August 

A first-class collection of peonies is always desirable and 
yearly becomes more attractive. The growing of this 
flower is easy, provided a few fundamental points are at- 
tended to. Any soil in good mechanical condition is suit- 
able, though the plant responds well to a Httle extra care 
and nourishment. It is not advisable, however, to use fresh 
manure in too close contact with the roots. The roots re- 
quire dividing at intervals when they may have become so 
crowded as to interfere with their flowering. At all times 
the soil must be kept loose and free from weeds. In planting 
the roots make sure that the eyes are two to three inches 
below the surface. Even if small roots are started, full 
space must be allowed for growth, the rows being three or 
three and a half feet apart, the plants set two and a half or 
three feet apart in the rows. 

The best season for planting is the end of August or early 
September, though peonies may be planted at any time 
from mid-August until growth is too far advanced in the 
spring. The following are among the best varieties: 
Couronne d'Or, pure white; Felix Crousse, rich red; Festiva 
Maxima, white; Duchess de Nemours, white; Edulis 
Superba, rich mauve pink; Monsieur Jules Elie, light lilac 
rose; Madame de Verneville, white with bluish center; Marie 
Lemoine, pure white and cream; Grandiflora, rose, shaded 
white; Baroness Shroeder, flesh white; Livingstone, light 
lilac rose; Monsieur Du Pont, pure white, center splashed 
crimson; DeHcatissima, pale lilac rose; Venus, light hy- 
drangea pink; Claire Dubois, clear rich violet rose, tipped 
silvery white; Delachei, violet-crimson, tipped silver; La 
Tulipe, lilac white; Modiste Guerin, light solferino red. 



August : Third Week 

EVERGREENS AND SHRUBS FOR FALL PLANT- 
ING: PLANNING AN ARTISTIC PLANTING; 
VARIETIES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES 

First on the list for fall planting in point of time come the 
evergreens. These should be got in as soon after the middle 
of August as possible, unless belated July weather or drought 
prevent. They include the broad-leaved evergreens, such 
as rhododendrons, Kalmia or mountain laurel and box, 
as well as the conifers — ^pines, hemlocks, spruce, cedars 
and others. 

Although the broad-leaved evergreens are perhaps not 
essential to the planting of a small place, there are few 
grounds so small that at least a few of the conifers cannot 
be used to great advantage. Conifers form the most domi- 
nant and permanent feature of the place, and for that 
reason one should be certain that the best possible situa- 
tions have been selected before they are put in. 

As a rule any mass planting of evergreens should be kept 
well to the north or west of the house. This is desirable 
where their services are required as a windbreak and shelter; 
but, aside from that, if planted to the south, the shade 
they will give after several years' growth is pretty sure to 
be too dense, and thus a somewhat gloomy atmosphere 
is created. It is a great mistake, however, to think that they 
must be planted in straight rows or plots, as one so fre- 
quently sees them. An artistic grouping will require no 
more trees and will prove just as effective for any practical 
purpose as a stiff, nursery-looking row. For sure results 
stick to the common sorts. White pine will grow in most 
soils and will live for generations; it is one of the fastest 
growing of all the conifers. American Arbor Vitae is ex- 
cellent for both row and mass planting; although the uni- 

207 



2oS AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

versally used California Privet has of late replaced it for 
hedge work, it is still the best thing to plant for a tall, stiff 
hedge. For single specimens Juniperus Virginiana is one of 
the best that can be had and is almost as artistic in effect 
as the famous cypresses of Italy. 

The Use of Shrubs 

The one object in using shrubs of course is to make the 
place beautiful; but there are, in general, three ways of 
using them toward this end. As a background for lower 
growing plants, flower beds, or lawns; for hedges, boundary 
lines, or screens; and for the beauty of their flowers or 
foHage, berries, or bark, either in beds or as individual 
specimens. Of course these three uses are seldom distinct 
and separate — which only illustrates further the many- 
sided advantages of shrub plantings. 

The first thing to do in selecting shrubs for the place 
is to determine in which of these ways we wish to use them, 
and how extensively; and the best way to get an accurate 
idea of our wants or needs (for the natural "lay of the 
land" and other existing conditions will determine to a 
great extent the shrubs we should select) is to go over the 
ground carefully, sketching down the various groups, 
hedges, screens, or location of individual specimens we 
may wish to place. Then put these all down in proportion 
on one plan, to be used as a guide and kept for future refer- 
ence. Of course the whole thing need not be carried out 
at once; we may put in a hedge of barberry this fall, along 
the front of the place, and a couple of hardy, large-flowered 
hydrangeas well down the front walk to give a semi-formal 
touch to the approach. But that rather ugly corner back 
by the garage may have to wait a year longer — being 
screened temporarily by a group of ricinus (the giant castor- 
oil plant), or even by homely sunflowers. 

The shrubs suited for these several purposes are not 
divided into any hard and fast groups. All of them are 
available for more than one of the purposes mentioned 



AUGUST: THIRD WEEK 209 

and several are adapted to any purpose. But a simple 
classification is of considerable help in making selections. 

Shrubs for Single Specimens 

Some of those especially suitable for single specimens on 
the lawn or about the grounds are hardy hydrangeas {Hy- 
drangea paniculata, var. grandiflora and H. arhorescens, 
var. grandiflora) ; the Mock Orange {Philadelphus) ; Lilacs 
(Syringa), of which there are many fme new varieties 
not yet generally known but as easy to grow as the old 
sorts; the beautiful Japanese maples, with foliage of many 
shades of color and striking forms; that old, early-flowering 
favorite of unequaled fragrance, the Strawberry shrub 
{Calycanthus floridus); Viburnum; Smoke tree (Rhus 
cotinus) ; White Fringe (Chionanthus Virginica) ; Buddleia, 
the butterfly shrub, of which splendid new varieties have 
recently been introduced; Rose of Sharon (Althea); and 
the universally popular but quite indispensable Deutzias, 
Weigelas, Forsythias and Spireas, some of the newer varie- 
ties of which, though one seldom hears about them, are 
just as great improvements over older sorts as are the newer 
varieties of roses and annuals that are brought to the at- 
tention of every flower lover. 

For Beds and Borders 

Shrubs for use in mass planting, in the shrubbery border, 
or for screen plantings along the boundary lines, may be 
considered in high-growing and low-growing groups. In 
plantings of any size they are generally used together, and 
in disposing them the tallest things should always be kept 
at the back, grading down to the lowest at the front. The 
shrubbery border, unlike the hardy border and the flower 
beds, is usually made with an irregular or wavy outHne and 
varies greatly in width, so that alternate recesses or bays 
and projections or promontories are formed, and the more 
informal or natural this outline can be made the more pleas- 



210 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

ing will be the general effect of the planting. Among the 
taller of the common shrubs are rhododendron, laurel 
(Kalmia), Dogwood (Cornus florida) , Lilac, Sumac (Rhus), 
Golden Elder {Sambucus nigra, var. aurea), the taller Spi- 
reas and viburnums, Forsythias, and Honeysuckle (Loni- 
cera). 

Low-growing shrubs which can be relied upon are spirea, 
Forsythia, Deutzia gracilis, Deutzia Lemoinei, Berheris 
Thunhergii, Spircea callosa, Clethra alnifolia, Weigelia — 
low-growing varieties — Calluna vulgaris, Andromeda flori- 
hunda, Berheris aquifolium and Azalea amcena. 

Shrubs for Hedges 

Those especially adapted for hedges are the following: 
Barberry (Berberis), for low, informal hedges; California 
Privet, for semiformal or informal hedges, especially in 
shady places; Japanese Privet, for low-spreading informal 
hedges; Japanese Quince (Pyrus Japonicus) with scarlet, 
showy flowers; and Boxwood, especially useful for hedging 
in the flower garden and for neat formal hedges, but not 
so hardy as the foregoing. 

Replant Peonies this Fall for Abundant Bloom Next Year 

It will soon be time to reset the peonies. Old plants are 
often poor bloomers. The plants may be shy-blooming by 
nature. The clumps may have been growing from ten to 
twenty years in the same place, until the soil has become 
impoverished. The location may be dry in the blooming 
season, so the peonies have not received proper fertilization 
and culture. 

Prepare for replanting by selecting a place now where the 
soil is ordinarily moist, not wet; dig holes two feet deep 
and three feet in diameter; save the richer topsoil and 
discard the poorer bottom soil; place well-rotted manure, 
preferably cow or sheep manure in the bottom of each hole 
to the depth of six inches and dig in; fill the holes to the 



AUGUST: THIRD WEEK 211 

top with a mixture of two-thirds soil and one-third leaf 
mold, thoroughly well-rotted manure and sand. 

In early September take up the clumps of peonies and 
divide them in such a way as to leave only four to six eyes, 
which produce next year's shoots, on the top of each division. 
Plant these divisions in the prepared places, deep enough so 
that the crowns will be only three inches below the surface. 
Deep planting sometimes causes shy blooming. Cover the 
surface of the soil thickly with coarse, strawy manure, and 
leave this covering on till early next spring. Water applied 
in sufficient quantity to reach the bottom of roots once or 
twice each week in late April or May increases the number 
of blooms in a dry season and improves their quality. 

If it is desired to plant the peonies in a bed the whole bed 
should be excavated and prepared in the same manner as 
directed for making the holes, and the peonies should be set 
three feet apart each way. Peonies need heavy fertilizing 
each year with stable manure or bone meal, or both, and 
they need plenty of water in the blooming season to give 
the best results. Peonies thrive well in a partial shade, and 
in such a location the blooms retain their color longer. 



August : Fourth Week 

PLANNING AND BUILDING A SMALL GREEN- 
HOUSE: MATERIALS; CONSTRUCTION; HEATING 

A mistaken idea as to the cost keeps many persons from 
trying to put up even a small house. The ready-made 
patent framed greenhouses with all the latest devices and 
niceties of construction, are worth what they cost, but the 
man who cannot afford one of them can put up a perfectly 
practical house at a figure that he can afford if he buys his 
own material and does his own work. It is now possible to 
buy, at a reasonable price, a complete small house, heating 
system and all, that comes all cut and ready to erect, and 
can be put up in a few days' time. A small greenhouse 
will pay as good dividends as the frames or the garden. 

If building is begun at once you can have your house for 
use this fall and winter, as well as to grow next spring's 
supply of plants. 

The simplest type of greenhouse is the ''lean-to." It is 
the cheapest and easiest to put up. It may be constructed 
against the south wall of the dwelling or some other building. 
Or it may be built into the veranda. It is often possible 
to heat a house of this kind with the same heating plant 
that is used for the home. 

The Construction of a ^' Lean-to ^^ House 

As the wall of the building against which the "lean-to " 
is to be built forms its north side, we have to supply a south 
wall, the two ends, and the roof. Sometimes the south wall 
has a row of glass, which is desirable, but not necessary. 

The walls may be made of either concrete or post-and- 
board construction. Which would be best to use will de- 
pend largely upon how difficult it is to get sand and gravel 

212 



AUGUST: FOURTH WEEK 



213 



in your locality. Once done, however, concrete will last 
practically forever. If concrete is used the wall should be 
put down at least to the frost-line, and be four inches 
or more thick above ground. Use more cement in propor- 
tion to the sand and gravel than for ordinary walls. A 




Cross-section of 10 x 20 lean-to house. 

mixture of i to ij^ parts cement, 2 of sand, and 4 of gravel 
or broken stone will be right. For the post-and-board con- 
struction posts are put into the ground every four or five 
feet apart, and the wall built on the outside. Cedar is the 
best wood to use for the posts, but chestnut or some other 
local sort which does not rot quickly will answer the pur- 



214 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



pose. The corner posts must be square, and it is better 
to have the others so. The posts are carefully "lined up"; 
a layer of boards, preferably tongued and grooved, is put 
on; over these a layer or double layer of building paper; 
another layer of boards; building paper; 
and then shingles, siding, or stone-sur- 
faced roofing. 

On top of the front wall is placed the 
"eave plate" or sash sill which forms the 
support for the lower ends of the sash 
bars (the long narrow bars which sup- 
port the glass) . At their upper ends the 
sash bars are held in place in the "ridge." 
The ridge, in the case of a lean-to house, 
is fastened securely to the wall of the 
house against which the greenhouse is be- 
ing built. If the sash bars for the roof 
are not over six or seven feet long they 
will be strong enough to support the glass 
without any bracing, or "purlines" as 
they are called, under them. For sash 
bars longer than that some support is 
necessary, and the strongest and most 
convenient thing to use is pipe, an inch 
in diameter being amply strong for a small 
house. Secondhand pipe is perfectly good 
for the purpose. At the ridge or peak of 
the house there should be one or more 
hinged ventilators to provide for cooling 
the house on bright hot days. At each 
end of the house, in place of the sash bar, an "end bar" or 
gable-rafter is used. This has the shoulder for the glass on 
one side only, and is grooved out on the other so that the 
glass in the end or "gable" of the house can fit into it, 
making a tight, secure joint. The forms of the various kinds 
of pieces or members used may be seen from the cross- 
sections in any greenhouse material catalogue. 




Detail of side-wall 
construction. 



AUGUST: FOURTH WEEK 



215 



Material Required for a 20 x lo Lean-to House 

Let us figure out just what is needed for a lean-to house, 
twenty feet long and approximately ten wide. Suppose 
we can get 7 feet of headroom on the wall against which 
we wish to build. Then we can figure on a height of four 
feet for the front wall, which will require 6-foot posts, as 
they should be set at least two feet into the soil. For the 
front wall then we will require five 6-foot posts; double 
boarding enough to go from a foot below the surface to 2j^ 
feet up the posts (twice 33^ feet x 20 feet), or 140 feet; 



^W^M« 




^^H 



22" 



WALK. 



3'2' BENCH 



2.0 



WALK 



3'Z' BENCH 



Ground plan of 10 x 20 lean-to house. 

20 feet each of 2 x 4" eave-plate and 2 x 6" sill; and ten lights 
of 16 X 24" double- thick glass. For the ends there will be 
required 4 g-foot posts; approximately the same amount 
of boarding as for the front wall; 20 feet of 2 x 4" sill; 50 
feet of "side bars" (to hold the glass) ; and 60 square feet of 
glass. It is usually possible to pick up a secondhand door 
of some local contractor, at a very low price; or one may 
readily be constructed of boards and roofing paper or shin- 
gles. 

For the roof there will be required 20 feet of ridge, 13 
lo-foot sash bars, 2 lo-foot end bars; and 3 ventilating 
sash. A little may be saved on the ridge by having it sawed 
in two vertically, as it will support the sash bars just as well 
and fit more snugly against the side of the house. Get 
the style of sash bars known as "drip" bars — which means 
that they do not drip ! If you get the ventilating sash made 
the right size you can easily put the glass in yourself. 



2i6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Each sash will require a '' header," or cross piece between 
the sashes, where its lower edge rests. 

To support the middle of the sash bars a wooden rafter 
and wood posts may be used, but a much more convenient 
and lasting support may be had by getting 20 feet of i- 
inch pipe — secondhand will do — and two i34-inch pipe posts 
six feet long. If two additional pipe posts are secured and 
placed near the ends of the house they will both strengthen 
the construction and help make a neat, strong support for 
the middle bench, to be put in later. 

Itemizing these things, and including the glass for roof 
and the fittings, etc., which will be required, we have the 
following list of materials. The cost will vary. I have 
built a house at the figures given here, but they are low, 
and I was able to get some material secondhand. 

300 feet of inch boards, for walls $9 . 00 

9 posts (5 6-foot; 4 9-foot long) 3 . oo 

1 ,000 shingles, for walls 450 

6 boxes 24 X i6-in. double thick glass, $18 to 24.00 

10 feet 2 X 4-in. ridge .80 

13 io>^-foot drip bars, for roof 3-25 

2 io>^-foot end bars, for roof .75 

50 foot side bars, random lengths, for gables 2 . 50 

20 feet 2 X 4-inch eaves plate i . 60 

20 feet 2 X 6-in. sill 2 . 20 

20 feet 2 X 4-in. sill, for gables i . 60 

20 feet i-inch iron pipe, secondhand i .00 

4 6-foot i>i-inch pipe posts i . So 

4 i>^x i-inch split-T's .50 

15 pipe-straps, to fasten purlin to bars .25 

2 gable end-fittings for purlin .20 

3 ventilating sash, for 3 lights, glass 3 . 00 

3 continuous headers for same .50 

6 hinges, with screws, for ventilators 75 

I roll building paper 2 . 00 

75 lbs. putty, greenhouse 3 • 00 

Hardware, paint, and miscellaneous 5 . 00 to 10 . 00 

The posts, boards, shingles, and the building paper may 
be had at a local dealer's. The other things should be or- 
dered from a regular greenhouse material company. 



AUGUST: FOURTH WEEK 



217 



A Larger House 

If you happen to live in a section where many of your 
friends and neighbors have gardens, it will probably repay 
you well to put up a larger house and grow extra plants to 
sell in the spring. For a small practical house of this sort, 
two good forms of construction are shown in the accompany- 
ing cuts. The details of construction are much the same as 
those shown for the former house already described. Special 
fittings are made to use in connection with the pipe posts, 
frame, and sup- 
ports, and there 
is no reason why 
one ordinarily 
skillful with 
tools cannot do 
the biggest part 
of the work of 
building a small 
house himself. 
In many parts 
of the house iron may be used in place of the wooden parts I 
have described. The cost is more, but repairs are eliminated. 
Before building a house of any size, you should get cata- 
logues from some of the greenhouse companies and make 
yourself famihar with the different methods of construction. 

No matter how small your house is, however, plan it 
carefully in every detail before ordering the material. The 
plan and list of material above should not be used unless it 
fits in with your particular requirements. 




Beginning Work on the Greenhouse 

As you may buy the posts, boarding, shingles, etc., lo- 
cally, you can get the work well under way without waiting 
for the other materials to arrive. Level off the site you have 
selected, and make your measurements carefully. To get 
the plan square, be sure that the diagonals, from opposite 



2i8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

corners, are of exactly the same length. Mark the lines 
for the outsides and ends plainly by stretching stout cord 
or a garden line to stakes set a couple of feet beyond where 
each corner is to be, so that the points where the strings cross 
will indicate the exact point where it is desired to have the 
outside corners of the greenhouse. All the posts should be 
set in very firmly; the best way is to pour concrete around 
the bases. Set the two corner posts first and line up the 
rest carefully with these. The best way is to have the posts 
a little longer than needed, and saw them off level after 
they are set. 

The 2x4 inch eave plate can go into place next. And 
then, leaving just enough room for a light of glass to go 
in the 16-inch way, fit the 2x6 inch sill 16 inches below 
this, mortising it out carefully to fit snugly about the 
posts. The bevel or shoulder in the sill should come just 
even with the outside of the posts, so that the latter will 
not be in the way of the glass, which may be put in, with- 
out any side bars, in a continuous row. 

The walls may then be constructed fitting the boards 
snugly under the 2 x 6-inch sill, and working down toward 
the ground. Put the ridge in place, being sure that it is 
very secure and makes a water-tight joint with the side of 
the house. (If this cannot be secured by the use of white 
lead, use a strip of roofer's tin.) Then mark off carefully on 
both ridge and eave the places for the sash bars. Then start 
with one end bar, and nail the bars into place, using finishing 
nails. Try every third or fourth bar with a fight of glass to 
be certain that you are getting them spaced exactly right. 
The purlin, or pipe, which supports the sash bars does not 
have to be directly on the middle. In this lean-to, for in- 
stance, it comes a Kttle to one side. Ascertain carefully, 
however, just where it is to come, and mark the bars on the 
bottom side with a chalk-line. Then, with the purKn clips, 
fasten the purhn into place. Put the pipe post supports in 
place, being careful to get them perpendicular and in line, 
and set the bottoms in concrete. Do not touch the posts 
while the concrete is setting, which will take two or three 



AUGUST: FOURTH WEEK 219 

days, during which time the doors and gable bars may be 
put in place. All will then be ready for the glass. 



How to Lay the Glass 

Put the ventilators on first. In putting in the glass you 
will notice that each light is slightly curved. Put the convex 
side up. Put in one complete row at a time, beginning at the 
eaveplate, and letting the glass come down just flush with 
the outer bevel. ''Work up " a generous supply of putty un- 
til it is very soft and elastic. (If necessary add a Httle 
linseed oil.) Put on the putty so thick that the glass can be 
firmly imbedded in it, by pressing down hard along each 
edge of the glass. The lights should be lapped slightly — 
Ve to i^ of an inch — and held firmly in place by greenhouse 
glazing points. There are several types of these, but I like 
best the style known as Siebert's. After a complete row 
of glass is put in, scrape off the surplus putty on the under 
side. Go over the outside edges of the glass with linseed 
oil and white lead, mixed to the consistency of thick paint. 

One of the secrets in building a house that will last is to 
have the painting done thoroughly, and all crevices and 
holes filled with paint or white lead, and all joints white 
leaded. Go over the whole frame carefully after it is put 
up, before putting in any glass; and again after the glass is 
put in. Be sure to buy a good paint. If you do not know 
about it, write to your State Experiment Station for in- 
formation. 

In the estimate for material I have not included benching. 
Two by four scantlings and second-hand or second-grade 
boards may be used; but as a general rule, the cheaper the 
bench put up the sooner it will have to be repaired. For a 
house like the lean-to described, if you can't afford a tile 
or slate bottom bench, I would recommend concrete for 
the bottom and sides of the walk, and iron pipe posts 
and cross-pieces for the benches. Split-fittings, especially 
designed for making bench-frames, may be bought quite 



220 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

cheaply, and with them such a frame may easily be put up. 
Then boards are used for the bottom of the bench, and may 
readily be replaced. 

Heating the Greenhouse 

If hot water or steam is used in the dwelling house, the 
heating of the small greenhouse is an easy matter. Where a 
hot-air system is used for the house, a small hot-water coil 
may be placed in the top of the fire-box, and connected with 
the heating pipes in the greenhouse. Two ''coils" of pipe 
of five I -inch returns each, fed by two iJ/^-inch flows, would 
heat a lean-to, like that described, with hot water. The 
boiler should be placed as much lower than the piping as is 
practical — an advantage already at hand when the green- 
house is heated from the house cellar. For the detached 
small greenhouse it is usually possible, if one will look around 
a bit, to pick up a small secondhand hot-water heater, and 
secondhanc^pipe, which, while not as neat and trim as new 
material would be, will give satisfaction as far as supplying 
heat is concerned. The heating system should be installed 
under the direction of some competent person. A small 
house, especially if it is to be used only for starting plants 
in the spring, may be heated by a flue, although this method 
is not so reliable as hot water. In case a flue is used, the 
chimney should be built on top of the furnace. The flue 
should then be carried to the other end of the house, or 
near it, and back to the chimney. This provides a forced 
draft, as the air in the chimney is heated as soon as the fire 
is started, and sucks the hot air from the fire-box around 
through the flue after it. If a flue is used, care must be 
taken not to have any woodwork come in direct contact. 



September : First Week 

LATE WORK IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN : LAST 
PLANTINGS; GETTING READY FOR THE 
FIRST FROSTS; PREPARING FOR WINTER 
WORK UNDER GLASS 

The first rule for the home gardener at this time of the 
year is to let not a single weed go to seed. Do not let the 
weeds even form seed pods, because many of these will 
ripen and shell out if they are cut when green. Go over 
the grounds from one border line to the other; even in 
gardens that are kept clean, weeds at the ends of the rows, 
along the fences, or in plots that have gone by, often are 
left to be cut and burned in the fall — too late to prevent 
their sowing trouble for next year. 

One reason, perhaps, why stray weeds are left is that 
among the usual garden tools there is none especially 
adapted to their removal. Weeds should be cut below 
the surface, to prevent their sprouting again. The hook- 
bladed knife used for thinning cane-fruits is ideal for this 
purpose. If one of these is not available, however, a tool for 
this purpose may easily be made from a piece of hoe blade 
or a mowing-machine knife blade. Cut the piece of hoe 
blade three inches or so wide, heat it and hammer it out 
straight at the shank; attach this to a stout handle four 
or five feet long in such a way that it can be used with a 
straight thrust. The mowing-machine knife blade may be 
fastened to a handle in the same way, or in such position 
that the cutting edge is uppermost, so it will cut with a 
pull. With either of these implements the removal of large 
weeds is not hard work. You do not need to stoop over, 
and no vegetables or flowers need be uprooted in the process. 

All the refuse of vegetable crops such as peas, beans, 
early cucumbers, cabbage stumps, and so forth, should be 

221 



2 22 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

removed, put in a pile and burned clean as soon as it is dry. 
This may seem Kke a waste of vegetable matter that could 
have been added to the compost heap, but the eggs, cocoons 
and pupEe of various insects, hibernating adults, and the 
germs of various blights and fungous diseases are carried 
over and protected in material of this kind, to be on hand 
to make trouble next season. Thorough cleanliness is es- 
sential in fighting insects and diseases. 

Fall Sowing for Spring Crops 

The only sowing that may be done at this time of the 
year in the Northern States is a last planting of radishes. 
In states a little farther south, where killing frost need not 
be expected until late in October, there may be last sowings 
of early varieties of peas, spinach, beets and lettuce. Prep- 
aration should also be made now for onions and spinach 
to be wintered over. Onions should be sown considerably 
thicker than in spring, as some may be winter-killed. One 
of the early Globe varieties, such as Yellow Strasburg or 
Danvers, should be selected, as these make thick stands 
and are ready for eating earlier than the flat sorts. Al- 
though seed onions that have a good start and are pro- 
tected by a winter mulch will stand very severe weather, 
the Egyptian or Perennial Tree onions are still hardier 
and are sure to prove successful with the amateur. They 
come in clusters of miniature onions — the heads that form 
at the tops of the seed stalks instead of seeds on this va- 
riety — which should be separated and planted in the same 
way as sets. They should be pushed deep into the soil, as 
the more the stalks are blanched the better they are for 
eating green. 

A number of other vegetables may be sown late in the 
fall for extra early results next spring, but these should be 
put in so late that they will not sprout this fall. Radishes, 
lettuce, spinach, carrots, smooth peas, turnips and cabbage 
will usually come through all right and start up in spring 
earlier than any that could be planted then. The ground 



SEPTEMBER: FIRST WEEK 223 

may be prepared at any time, but the seeds should not be 
put in until just before you have reason to expect things 
to freeze up for the winter. Only a few cents' worth of 
seed will be required, and if you have to replant in the 
spring httle is lost. 

Late Spraying and Cultivating 

Routine work among the late fall crops should not be 
neglected because the season is drawing to a close. Any 
that are subject to late attack from blight or mildew dis- 
eases, such as potatoes, celery or fall strawberries, should 
be sprayed carefully until they are ready for harvest. 

Use the wheel hoe — or the hand scufHe hoe when the tops 
have grown too much to permit the use of the wheel hoe — 
as long as possible, especially if the weather is dry; a few 
leaves broken off beets, carrots, turnips or parsnips will 
make no difference. Late planted crops make their great- 
est growth, and consequently their greatest demand upon 
soil moisture, during the last two weeks before hard frost 
comes. 

^'Preparedness '' for the First Frosts 

It is still too early to put any vegetables into winter 
quarters, but a number of things must receive preliminary 
treatment as soon as they are ready. A sudden cold night 
may kill all tender vegetables, such as beans, squashes, 
melons and tomatoes, in latitudes north of New York City, 
at any time after the fifteenth of September. This first 
frost is often followed by a number of weeks of good grow- 
ing weather, but do not be caught off your guard. To be on 
the safe side winter squashes, sugar pumpkins and melons, 
which are matured even if not quite ripe, should be gathered 
and placed in small piles so that they can be covered quickly 
if occasion arises. The less-matured fruits can be left to 
grow a while longer. 

The ends of the vines, a few joints beyond the last fruits 
that give promise of becoming large enough to be used, 
should be cut off, and all the fruits belonging to a single hill 



224 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

gathered together in one spot while still attached to the 
vines, so they may be covered easily. The greatest care 
should be taken in handling all these things, whether they 
are left on the vines or not. In removing them cut a piece 
of the vine with each; if the stem is knocked off decay is 
almost certain to set in. 

Most beans can be used either dry or canned green. Just 
before frost is to be expected pick all immature beans for 
canning. The dried beans, of course, will not be injured 
by freezing, but as soon- as the foliage has been killed they 
should be pulled and put under cover. 

Though a Hght frost might blacken the foliage without 
spoiling the tomatoes, there is a chance of their being 
turned soft on the upper side. The largest fruits should be 
gathered and put away in a cold-frame in straw or marsh 
hay. The vines of smaller fruits can be left for a while 
longer. When one is pretty certain that a killing frost is 
coming, a few vines should be taken up, roots and all, and 
hung up in a dry place under cover or in the cellar, the sap 
in the vines being sufficient for the requirements of fruits 
that have nearly matured. In this way ripe tomatoes may 
be enjoyed for some weeks after the supply in the garden 
has been killed off. 

Though onions are not likely to be damaged by early 
frost they may be made almost worthless by rainy weather, 
which will cause them to sprout again after the tops have 
become dry. As soon as they begin to ripen, as will be indi- 
cated by the tops' breaking at the neck and beginning to 
shrivel, the roots dry up so they can be pulled with very 
little effort. 

At this stage no time should be lost in getting them out 
of the ground. If there is not room to give them storage in 
a shallow layer two or three inches deep, in a dry place 
under cover, pile them in windrows, putting four or five 
rows together. They should be raked over every day with 
a wooden rake until any soil has fallen off and the tops have 
become dry. Then get them under cover. 

White onions should be pulled as soon as the tops break 



SEPTEMBER: FIRST WEEK 225 

over, and should immediately be put under cover; other- 
wise they turn green. Most of the white varieties are ready 
to pull some time before the yellow sorts. 

CauKfiower, Brussels sprouts, Cos lettuce and endive all 
require attention as they begin to mature. As soon as the 
buttons or heads of cauliflower form, they should be pro- 
tected from sun and rain by tying or fastening the leaves 
together at the tops. Brussels sprouts will fill up better 
to the top of the stalks if the heads of the plants are cut out 
after the sprouts have formed. Most varieties of Cos lettuce 
require tying to bleach thoroughly; use raffia or soft twine, 
and tie as near the top of the head as possible. Endive may 
be either tied up or bleached with two wide boards set 
A -shaped over the rows. 

Prepare for the Winter^ s Work Under Glass 

It is time to begin preparations for the winter garden 
in the frames or greenhouse. If you have not a greenhouse 
already there is time during the next six or eight weeks 
to build one and to get your tenderer flowers into it in time 
to give your old enemy Jack Frost the slip. Nothing con- 
nected with gardening has -changed more during the last 
ten or fifteen years than methods of greenhouse construc- 
tion, particularly for small, inexpensive, practical-purpose 
houses. A house of almost any desired shape or width can 
be bought in standard units, or sections, which you can 
put together with little trouble. 

If the compost for winter has not already been made, 
ample supplies of soil, well-rotted manure, sand, chip dirt 
or leaf mold, and rotted sod should be gathered together 
and put under cover. The soil in the frames, which may 
have become more or less weedy or dried out through the 
latter part of the summer, should be put into shape some 
time before you are to use it. In the greenhouse it is well 
to let the soil in the benches or beds dry out thoroughly a 
few weeks before putting them in use again. A thorough 
sun baking gets rid of some insects and disease germs. 



September : Second Week 

FALL BULBS: PLAN NOW TO SECURE A LONG 
SEASON OF BLOOM NEXT SPRING; TYPES 
AND VARIETIES 

Bulbs to plant this fall, which will bloom next spring, 
require very small outlay. A few dollars will buy 200 or 
300 bulbs of the best-named sorts, and most of these will 
last, or self-propagate, for many years. They are easier 
to plant than either seeds or growing plants, and if a few 
simple precautions are followed success is almost certain. 

We hear a good deal these days about succession crops — 
follow-up crops in the vegetable garden and continuity 
of bloom in the flower garden. Very little attention, how- 
ever, has been paid to obtaining a succession of bloom in the 
bulb garden. The spring-blooming bulbs are popular, but 
they would be much more so if more people realized that 
their season can, by proper selection, be extended from very 
early in the spring — much earUer than any of the perennials 
begin to bloom or than is safe to set out plants in flower from 
indoors — all through the spring and into early summer. In 
fact, their season may be extended practically throughout 
the summer if one includes the hardy HHes; but these are 
not, of course, covered in the term "spring-flowering" 
bulbs, and, moreover, most of them require treatment rather 
different from the latter. In describing how proper selection 
may prolong the flowering season in the bulb garden, I have 
given more consideration to the three most popular and 
important of the spring-blooming bulbs — tulips, narcissi 
and hyacinths. 

Aside from the fact that, as ordinarily planted, the 
flowering season of the spring bulbs is unfortunately short, 
almost every point that one can think of is in their favor; 
especially so for the use of the person whose garden time as 

226 



SEPTEMBER: SECOND WEEK 227 

well as garden space is limited. The culture is the easiest 
imaginable : buy good bulbs, plant them properly, give them 
a light winter mulching, remove it in the spring — and 
success is yours. The reason for this is that the buyer of a 
bulb is getting what is practically a ''finished product"; 
all he has to do, so to speak, is to open the can and warm 
the contents, and it is ready for use. With a seed or a 
plant or even a shrub, however, he has got to do some real 
gardening. And the reason lies in the fact that the indus- 
trious Hollander or Frenchman or Jap who grew the bulb 
has done the real work with it; the flower is contained in- 
side, literally a perfect miniature already formed, needing 
only the proper application of the sufficient degree of mois- 
ture and heat and sunshine to swell it to its mature propor- 
tions and to tint it to the most delicate or dazzHng of colors. 
That is why, for example, you can grow a lily bulb in 
pebbles and plain water. For the amateur, success with 
the spring flowering bulbs is more certain than any other 
class of flowers. As already stated, their culture is the 
simplest; furthermore, they are practically free from insect 
pests and diseases, more so than any other class, not even 
excepting shrubs; finally they escape that greatest of all 
garden plagues — the midsummer drought. When your 
other choice flowers are drying up or necessitating the 
daily use of the hose and the constant maintenance of a 
dust mulch, your bulbs are lying dry and dormant, "resting 
up" for the autumnal root growth and the spring flowering 
period, at both of which seasons moisture is usually abun- 
dant. Nor is their cost excessive: the most beautiful of the 
narcissi for planting in mass or naturalizing can be purchased 
for from half a cent to a cent and a half apiece. Nor, again, 
is the fact that their cheery blossoms come at a season when 
practically no other flowers are in bloom, to be overlooked. 

Plan Your Bulb Garden Before You Order 

Before making out your bulb order, even though you 
take pains to select varieties that will give you a long season 



228 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

of bloom, careful consideration should be given the method 
in which the bulbs are to be used. There are three quite 
distinct general methods of planting: in formal or designed 
beds; in informal beds or in long borders, and in naturalizing 
either in single specimens or small groups, or in large col- 
onies. A great change in the method of planting has taken 
place during the last decade or two — a change that proves a 
boon to the gardener. In passing it may be noted that for- 
mal beds are no longer popular save in certain locations, and 
the bad reputation bulbs had in regard to their short bloom- 
ing season was due mainly to the fact that when used for 
bedding or designs, as they formerly were, the gardener had 
to select sorts that would be as uniform as possible in time of 
flowering, height, color and in habit of growth. It is rather 
interesting to note, too, that whereas the hyacinth formerly 
occupied the chief position among these spring blooming 
bulbs, since they met these conditions most satisfactorily, 
this state of things is being reversed and tulips and narcissi 
are being given more and more prominence. Practic- 
ally every fall catalogue now emphasizes and makes a 
special feature of Darwin tulips. Formal beds, and espe- 
cially those laid out on the lawn to display geometrical 
designs, are, it is a pleasure to note, growing out of favor. 
In these days one seldom sees the old-fashioned anchor, 
ship or cartwheel that used to mar the appearance of an 
otherwise pretty front lawn. Such abortions never did have 
any practical or artistic raison d'etre, although the legiti- 
mate, formal bed still has its place, either in the laying out 
of formal grounds or to supply a mass of color as part of 
some landscape scheme. 

I would urge most emphatically that the bulb buyer get 
over his habit of sending in an order for Collection A or 
Collection B to ''be planted according to the diagram here- 
with." Don't be tempted into buying a collection of bulbs 
just because, for the same money, you get a dozen or two 
more than you would by making your own collection of 
named varieties. What you are looking for for your money 
is not the largest number of bulbs, but the most satisfactory 



SEPTEMBER: SECOND WEEK 229 

and longest display of flowers, and this is only accomplished 
by making your own collection for planting an informal bed 
or border, or by naturalizing them, or, better still, by using 
both methods. 

Figuring Out the Number of Bulbs Needed 

To select and plan for a long season of bloom, first meas- 
ure your bed or border and see how many bulbs of the re- 
quired variety it will take to fill it. Hyacinths and the late 
flowering tulips should be set six to ten inches apart each 
way; the smaller earlier flowering tulips and Dutch Roman 
or miniature hyacinths a little closer, say five to eight inches. 
The various narcissi should be put from six to twelve inches 
apart, depending on variety and size of bulb, for full effect 
the first season. The narcissi, however, multiply very 
rapidly. From a few dozen bulbs you can, in the course of 
three or four years, get enough to make further plantings or 
to fill in a good deal of space, if, in the first place, they are 
set rather far apart. 

NaturaKzing is simply getting as natural an effect as 
possible. The simplest wayjs to get a sufficient number of- 
the bulbs of the flowers you want, scatter them thinly broad- 
cast, and plant where they fall. For this purpose, of course, 
only plants are used which are perfectly hardy and will 
increase themselves from year to year; therefore, perfectly 
satisfactory results can be had by using bulbs that are not 
all of the first size. For instance, if you get a third of the 
quantity in first size bulbs and the rest in smaller, you will 
have a good show the first year after planting and plenty 
of other bulbs coming on for succeeding years. 

Having then determined the number of bulbs you will 
require, there remains the problem of selecting those which 
will give the best satisfaction. 

Early and Late Tulips 

I mention the tulips first, for they are at this time prob- 
ably the most popular of all the spring flowering bulbs. 



230 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

There are three main classes or sections : the Early Flowering 
sorts, single or double; the May Flowering or Cottage Gar- 
den, and the Darwin type, which also flowers in May. The 
other classes that are not so important are the Paris or 
Dragon tulips, which are good, strong growers and are 
beautifully colored with fringed and grotesque shaped 
flowers, and the class known as the Breeder tulip, from 
which the Darwins have been selected and developed. 
In size, season of bloom, robustness of growth, etc., these 
are similar to the Darwins; the reason for their having 
dropped out of the public eye is doubtless that their dull, 
solid ''self colors" were not popular for bedding effects. 
Some catalogues do not list them, but I can assure you that 
it will be very worth while for you to find one that does and 
to try out a few varieties. 

The time of flowering depends upon variety as well as 
type; therefore, for the longest flowering season for tulips, 
pick from the earliest of the single and double early flower- 
ing several of the late and mediums of both the Cottage 
Garden and the Darwin types, and a few of the extra late 
of the latter. Some of the best extra-early singles are Kaiser 
Kroon, scarlet, edged with yellow; Prosperine, Sir Thomas 
Lipton, Vermillion Brilliant and White Swan. In the May 
Flowering, Darwin and Parrot sections are many splendid 
new varieties, which are described in the catalogues. 

Narcissi, Daffodils and Jonquils 

Of the narcissi there are also a number of different types, 
all more or less confused under the names given them in the 
trade. The most important class is the Giant Trumpet 
narcissus. This includes such popular and splendid sorts as 
Emperor, Glory of Leiden, ''the king of daffodils," and the 
new giant flowered King Alfred, which has attracted a 
great deal of attention at the flower show. 

In addition is the Medium Trumpet class, which is listed 
under such various catalogue names as "Star," "Crown," 
" Chalice-cup " and "Peerless " narcissi. This class includes 



SEPTEMBER: SECOND WEEK 231 

Barrii Conspicuous, one of the most beautiful of all narcissi 
and especially valuable for cutting, and the several fine 
Incomparabilis and Leedsii varieties. 

The Polyanthus, *' Cluster-flowered," or *' Nosegay" 
narcissi are different from the foregoing in that the flowers 
are borne in clusters and are also deservedly popular on 
account of their pleasant fragrance. Paper White Grandi- 
florus, which is a favorite cut flower of the florists, and the 
*' Chinese Sacred Lily," which everyone has seen growing in 
bowls of water and pebbles, are the two best known of this 
class, but a number of the others are equally fragrant and 
beautiful and should be tried. This class is not as hardy as 
the others, but you should order a few of them along with 
your bulbs for outdoor planting, to grow in the house during 
the winter, either in bowls of pebbles and water, or in pots 
or bulb-pans of light, rich soil. Most of them will come 
through all right outdoors, although they must have ade- 
quate winter protection. 

The double-flowering sorts of daffodils are distinct from 
all the foregoing in having their flowers conspicuously dou- 
ble, which gives them an entirely different appearance. Of 
this class Van Scion, the old-fashioned favorite Dutch 
daffodil, is the best known. ' Sulphur (or Silver) Phoenix is 
dull white with a pale yellow center and is the largest and 
finest of the double sorts. 

The double Poet's narcissus. Alba Plena Odorata, is also 
exceptionally beautiful and sweet scented, but it requires 
for its successful culture rather heavy soil and a partially 
shaded position. 

Jonquils might be termed miniature narcissi, the whole 
plant being smaller, but with an exceptionally graceful 
and attractive habit of growth. Campernelle Rugulosus is 
the largest and strongest growing of these, and is very 
fragrant. 

The Poet's type of narcissus has flowers that are white 
and much simpler in construction than the others, the 
petals expanding flat open or even reflexed. Instead of the 
*' trumpet" they have a shallow cup, usually golden in 



232 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

color, distinctly margined with some sharply contrasting 
tint, such as red or scarlet. Poeticus Ornatus and King 
Edward VII are improved forms of the type, but they 
flower earlier, and for a succession of bloom you should 
plant with them some of the old Pheasant's Eye, or original 
Poeticus. The Poet's type is the most recent addition to the 
family, the result of a cross between the Poeticus and 
Polyanthus types, and is sometimes called the Hardy 
Cluster-flowered Daffodil, in contradistinction to the semi- 
hardy Polyanthus type. The several splendid varieties of 
this new section are all robust, healthy growers, with 
Poeticus-like flowers borne in clusters on strong, stiff stems. 
For a succession of narcissi of the several types mentioned, 
here are some of the best for early, medium and late bloom- 
ing: Early — Trumpet Major, Golden Spur, Princeps, Henry 
Irving, Beethoven, Stella (Incomparabilis) ; for medium — ■ 
Glory of Leiden, Emperor, Empress, most of the Incom- 
parabilis and the Leedsii sorts, Burbidgeii, Poeticus Grandi- 
florus and Alsace (Poeta); for late — Conspicuus Barii, the 
single Jonquils, the other Poeta varieties, Poeticus, P. 
Ornatus, and P. King Edward VII. 

Hyacinths for Succession 

The matter of making out your hyacinth order is much 
simpler. For outdoor culture there are only two types, the 
single and double Dutch hyacinths in various colors, al- 
though the same varieties in smaller bulbs are to be had 
under the name of Dutch Roman or Miniature hyacinths. 
Many catalogues now list the named varieties classified as 
to color, so that the selection of those adapted to your spe- 
cial needs is an easy matter. 

For a succession of hyacinths, here are a few of the best 
standard-named varieties: 

Early — Baroness Van Thull, L'Innocence, white; Scho- 
tel, blue; Garibaldi, red; Moreno, Rosea maxima, pink. 

Medium — La Grandesse, Madame Van der Hoop, white; 
Czar Peter, Grant Maitre, La Payrouse, blue; Aoi des 



SEPTEMBER: SECOND WEEK 233 

Beiges, Robert Steiger, red; Jacques, Gertrude, pink; Yel- 
low Hammer, Ida, yellow. 

Late — La Franchise, white; King of Blues, blue; King of 
Yellows, yellow; Etna, dark rose; Queen of the Pink, pink. 

Almost all above are old standard single sorts; the new 
named sorts show improvement in size and color. 

It is advisable to make out your order for bulbs as early 
as possible. Orders are filled in rotation, as the supplies 
arrive — ^practically all the spring-blooming bulbs are im- 
ported — and if there is a shortage the late buyers are the 
ones who have to accept substitutes or go without. Plant- 
ing should not be done too early, but it is always advisable 
to have the bulbs on hand so that they can be put in at 
once when conditions appear favorable. The object is 
to get a good root growth without having the tops start. 

It is a great mistake, however, to send in an order before 
you have taken the time carefully to figure out your needs. 
As a general rule, you will get more satisfaction for your 
money by avoiding ready-mixed collections and varieties 
about which you know nothing except that they are low 
priced. Estimate carefully the amount of space you can 
devote to bulbs, keeping in mind that all the spring-flower- 
ing sorts may be used in a double-flowering system, with 
annuals or bedding plants set out in late spring in the bulb 
beds. Or the bulbs may be put in the rose bed, or the hardy 
border, to bloom early and be out of the way. 

As to the proportion of each kind of bulb to order, that is 
a question both for personal taste and for the results which 
are aimed at. For design beds and formal effects, hyacinths 
are the most rehable for uniformity in height, color and time 
of blooming. Fortunately, however, design beds, dis- 
figuring the otherwise pretty lawns of small places, are less 
frequently seen than they were a few years ago. 

Tulips, through the development of many splendid new 
varieties that have increased season of bloom and range of 
colors, particularly in the more artistic and delicate shades, 
have gained greatly in popularity during the last decade. 
Many of the new sorts are fine for cut flowers, as well as 



234 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

useful for all kinds of gardening — solid beds or borders, 
lines of color against the house, or scattered groups to lighten 
up the shrubbery borders. 

Small groups of even a dozen or so Darwin or Dutch 
Breeder tulips, with their enormous blossoms borne on 
stems two to three feet tall, and remaining in flower for 
several weeks, make a striking display. Tulips should be 
replanted every second or third year, but this is easily done. 

The narcissus group, which includes the jonquils and 
daffodils, is especially suited for naturalizing or for planting 
in irregular groups on the lawn, in semishady positions, to 
propagate and look after themselves. I know of plantings 
of narcissus that have not been disturbed for twenty years, 
but that still bloom freely. For the best blossoms, however, 
the bulbs should be separated every four or five years. 

For flowers in the lawn, where the grass must be cut 
early in spring, the smaller earhest-flowering bulbs, such as 
crocuses, squills, snowdrops and chionodoxas, should be 
selected because they are hardy, and bloom early and never 
grow tall. Even with these the foHage should be allowed to 
remain as long as possible before cutting, so the bulbs will 
have every possible chance to ripen naturally. 



September : Third Week 

FALL PLANTING OF SHRUBS AND OTHER ORNA- 
MENTALS: WHEN TO PLANT; PREPARATION 
OF SOIL; TREATMENT ON RECEIPT; PRUNING 

The planting of hardy shrubs and perennials which are 
not subject to winter injury presents the greatest opportu- 
nity for constructive work at this season of the year. 

There are two good reasons why it is advisable to do this 
work now : The first is that such plants, if set out now, will 
have from two to four months' more growth before encoun- 
tering the usual summer drought than they would if set out 
next spring — and during the first year after planting dry 
weather is the biggest source of loss, even though the plant- 
ing is properly done. In the second place, this work if de- 
ferred until spring is apt to be put off until quite late or 
postponed altogether, because there are so many other 
things insistently demanding attention at that busy season. 
Moreover, with many plants, especially those blooming 
during the spring and early summer, a whole year is gained 
by planting now, instead of waiting a few months until 
spring. 

In fall planting, as in spring planting, there is no set rule 
as to the best time to plant that can be applied to every- 
thing and to every season. "The earlier the better" is a 
slogan that can be quite generally adopted for fall planting. 
In seasons when the ground is very dry from a prolonged 
summer drought it may be advisable to wait until the fall 
rains begin, but even then, unless planting is to be under- 
taken on a very large scale, water can be given at the time 
of transplanting, and if necessary two or three times there- 
after, to carry the plants through until the fall rains come. 
The extra time gained, even if it is but a week or so, is im- 
portant, because the more firmly the roots become estab- 

23s 



236 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



lished before freezing weather the more certain is the success 
of the planting. 

When to Plant Shrubs 

The ornamental shrubs comprise the most important 
group of plants for setting out in the falL The proper time 
for planting is just after the first hard frosts — from the 
middle of September to the middle of November, according 
to the latitude and location. But if you wait until the 
hard frost comes before making your preparations and be- 
fore engaging your stock you will be too late. Like the 
evergreens, the shrubs when once planted will become per- 
manent features of the place, and the task of planning where 




Fall planting. 1, Dwarf evergreens. 2, Large individual shrubs. 3, Tall shrubs for back- 
grounds and screening. 4, Lower shrubs for foregrounds. 5, Low shrubs or bulbs for 
edge of planting. 6, Tall informal hedge and street screen. 7, Formal or semi-formal 
hedge along street. 8, Tall, dense evergreen hedge and windbreak north and west of 
vegetable garden. 

they are to go should not be done in a hurry. Shrubs with 
ornamental foliage and with colored berries and bark are 
just as beautiful as those which flower. Moreover, they 
serve to brighten the landscape during fall and winter when 
the deciduous flowering shrubs have lost their beauty. 

There is no ''best way" of using shrubs; they are avail- 
able for all sorts of purposes — hedges, windbreaks, screens, 
masses, low and tall borders, single ornamental specimens, 
and for everything between the stiff formality of the closely 



SEPTEMBER: THIRD WEEK 237 

clipped boxwood or privet hedge to the naturalistic abandon 
of a mixed border planted against a wall or a boundary line 
with every appearance of having grown there as naturally 
as the weeds by the roadside. 

Shrubs can be bought at from fifteen to fifty cents apiece, 
the majority of them for not over a quarter, so that a few 
dollars a year invested in them will soon make a represent- 
ative collection. Even if only a few shrubs are set out, 
care should be taken to select those that bloom at different 
seasons of the year. With half a dozen, flowers can be had 
practically throughout the summer and early fall. In 
estimating the number of shrubs required for a bed or border 
of a given size allow about five feet each way for the taller 
sorts and three for the lower. A good principle to keep in 
mind, either in making groups or in placing individual 
specimens, is to maintain what landscape architects call 
the ''open center." Do not set the plants indiscriminately 
here and there, breaking up the lawn and abruptly termi- 
nating views from the front porch, veranda, windows or 
other frequented places. Keep the shrubbery plantings 
rather at the outer margins and be careful to use low- 
growing shrubs where some nearby attraction or distant 
vista would otherwise be shut off. 

Preparation for Planting Important 

As a rule, shrubs are not particular in regard to soil, 
but it is highly important that the best possible prepara- 
tion should be given. And as several years' supply of nour- 
ishment is to be incorporated a generous supply of coarse 
ground bone and acid phosphate, as well as some potash, 
should be included with the manure to be dug into the 
soil. For the shrub border the whole space to be planted 
should be plowed or dug. Where individual specimens 
or small groups are to go the ground may be prepared by 
digging out and enriching holes of suitable size. Where a 
hard subsoil is encountered it may be advisable to loosen 
it with dynamite. 



238 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The manure should be worked well down below the 
surface; a couple of good forkfuls and two or three hand- 
fuls of a mixture of bone, acid phosphate and potash to 
each shrub will not be too much. The sooner the ground 
can be got ready the better. An interval between its prep- 
aration and the actual planting gives it a chance to settle, 
and the various fertilizers used will be in more available 
form for the newly set plants to appropriate. 

Pack the Soil Firmly about the Roots 

From the nursery, properly grown plants will be received 
with a mass of fibrous roots carefully wrapped in burlap to 
keep them moist and in good growing condition. If the 
packing is dry when they arrive they should be placed, 
packing and all, in a tub, and water appKed slowly until 
no more will be absorbed. Put in only a Httle water at a 
time; do not soak the whole mass. It is advisable to plant 
as soon as possible after they are received; but if for any 
reason they must be held for a few days keep under cover 
and out of the wind. Or if planting must be delayed for a 
week or so cut the bundles open, take out the individual 
plants and heel them in in a trench. 

Firm planting is of the greatest importance, because 
even if a favorable fall is encountered the plants will not 
be very firmly established by winter, and damage from 
strong winds or from the heaving of the soil is pretty sure 
to result unless the earth has been packed round the roots 
solidly enough so that there is no ^'give" to the plants. 

In planting do not expose the roots even for a few minutes 
to wind and sun. The most convenient method is to carry 
the plants in a large, shallow basket, keeping the roots 
covered with moist burlap. Any broken or bruised roots 
should be cut back to clean, hard wood Deciduous trees 
and shrubs which flower after midsummer should be well 
cut back after planting. The early flowering sorts have 
already formed their buds, and pruning means fewer flowers 
the first spring; but if many of the roots have been removed, 



SEPTEMBER: THIRD WEEK 239 

50 that there seems to be too much top in proportion, it is 
best to sacrifice part of this first crop of flowers to make 
more certain of the ultimate success of the plant. 

If water must be applied put it in the bottom of the hole, 
before the plant is set, and again after it is about half filled 
with earth; never pour the water on top of the soil. See that 
the soil is well pressed in about the roots as the hole is being 
filled. Do not fill the hole up level and then make it firm 
by pressing on the top. The top inch or two of soil should 
be left loose to act as a mulch. Most shrubs should be set 
sHghtly deeper than they were growing at the nursery. Tall 
specimens which appear the least bit wabbly should be im- 
mediately staked and tied with bits of soft cloth or fastened 
with pieces of old rubber hose to prevent injury from the 
wind. 



September : Fourth Week 

PERENNIALS FOR PLANTING AND RE-PLANTING 
THIS FALL: PHLOX, IRIS, PEONIES 

Most perennials can be planted in the fall with advantage, 
because there is more time to do the work, and they will get 
a stronger and much earher start, than would be possible by 
spring planting. The spring blooming perennials, in fact, 
must be planted in the fall if one would be certain of remits 
the first year. In addition to new beds to be made, or new 
plants added to one's collection, there are quite sure to be a 
number of perennials which should be taken up, separated, 
and replanted, to continue to give the best results. Both 
those which form new ''crowns," like Golden Glow (rud- 
beckia), helianthus, Physostegia, and others similar, and 
those which propagate by making increasingly larger 
clumps, such as phlox, hibiscus, iris, and others of similar 
growth, gradually exhaust the plant food and overcrowd, 
reaching a point, after several seasons' growth, where they 
will deteriorate rapidly unless separated and replanted; 
preferably they should be given fresh soil, although replant- 
ing in the same place, after the ground has been thoroughly 
dug and enriched, will renew their vigor and size. 

As all of this work will more or less upset the garden it is 
best to delay it until after the first killing frosts. New beds 
or borders, however, should be made in the meantime. 
They should be trenched to a depth of some two feet. Nat- 
ural drainage should be good, and the beds so located that 
no surface water will stand on them during the winter. 
As the plants are to remain for several years, the soil can 
hardly be made too rich, and plenty of coarse ground bone 
should be used in addition to the manure or compost em- 
ployed, as this will decay gradually and continues to furnish 
an even supply of plant food for several years. 

240 



SEPTEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 241 

Do the Fall Planting Early 

Unless a late dry summer has made soil conditions un- 
favorable, early planting is, generally, advisable; there 
may be dry weather later, or an extra early fall. Most 
of the plants may be safely handled soon after their bloom- 
ing season is over, especially such sorts as go into a semi- 
dormant state of growth, as indicated by their foHage 
turning brown or dying down altogether. Therefore the 
early flowering things should be moved first, Bleeding 
Heart (Dicentra), the early phloxes and hardy poppies, 
lily-of-the-valley, primroses, and many others can all be 
planted immediately. Hardy perennial plants which are 
bought from the nursery or seedsmen, and have been 
grown in pots, may also be set out immediately, and the 
sooner they are set out, the stronger plants they will make 
before winter. The things still in active growth, like the 
late phloxes, chrysanthemums, fall anemones, helianthus, 
cardinal flowers, Tritomas, can wait until they are through 
flowering or after hard frost. In ordering from a nursery, 
the proper time for sending the plants may be left to the 
grower, but if a considerable number of things are being 
bought it is well to have them sent in two lots, — the earlier 
things a couple of weeks in advance of the others. This will 
be better for the plants, and the work of planting will not 
have to be so rushed. 

Increasing Plants by ^' Division ^^ 

In replanting your own plants or in exchanging plants 
with your neighbors, — which is a good and inexpensive way 
of increasing your collection, — the plants should be kept 
out of the ground as short a time as possible, and at all times 
should be protected by moss or wet bagging from sun and 
wind. There are two common mistakes to be avoided. The 
first is leaving the clumps to be replanted too large; most 
perennials can be divided easily by hand, and part of a 
clump or a section of a plant with a few strong buds or 
crowns, will give much better results in almost all cases than 



242 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

a large clump or several pieces of roots together. The other 
mistake is, with such an abundance of material on hand as 
one will have in taking plants up from an old border, that 
the plants will be reset too close. Give them plenty of room. 
In most cases, the average height of the plant will not be too 
great for the distance apart to set them. All tall growing 
things such as Aquilegias, Delphiniums, Digitalis, and so 
forth may be set closer in proportion to their height. In 
taking plants up, the lawn edger, which should be well 
sharpened, is very much better for cutting around the plants 
than the spade; and also for cutting up things which make 
dense clumps, and are not readily separated by hand, such 
as phlox. Some of the other good perennials which may be 
set now, include columbine (Aquilegias); Dictamnus (Gas 
plant); Hardy Daisies; Hardy Pinks; Liatris; Lychnis; 
Sweet William; Veronica. Some perennials especially good 
for shady positions are Aconitum; Anemones; Anchusa 
(Alkanet); Hepatica; Primroses; Polyanthus; Ranunculus; 
Saxaf rages; Trillium; Vinca; hardy Violets. 

Selecting Phlox for a Long Season of Bloom 

The most important of all our American hardy perennials 
and, in the opinion of many, the most indispensable of all 
perennials for the hardy border, are the members of the 
phlox family. By careful selection of the varieties from the 
different species, they may be had in bloom continually from 
quite early in the season until frost. There is a wide range 
of colors, practical freedom from diseases or insect enemies, 
and the flowers of many varieties are fragrant. The ear- 
liest fiowxring varieties are of creeping habit. One of these 
is phlox subulata, which is very hardy and good for a ground 
cover, even under somewhat adverse conditions, provided 
only the soil is not too dry. The foliage is evergreen and 
somewhat resembles moss, giving it its common name of 
Moss or Mountain Pink. While the old variety of this, 
the one still most commonly seen, is of a jarring, purplish 
rose color, it may also be had in pure white, light rose and 



SEPTEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 243 

pale lilac colors. Phlox Douglasii may be used successfully 
where the soil is too dry for the above. For shady places 
use Divaricata; while the plant itself is creeping in habit, 
the stems rise to a height of a foot or a foot and a half; it 
remains in flower throughout the early summer. There are 
two splendid new varieties of this, one dark blue and the 
other white, which make it still more valuable. The earliest 
of the upright phloxes come into bloom in May; among 
these are Miss Lingard, white with a dark colored eye; 
Mrs. Dalrimple, rosy white with scarlet eye, and Ninon, 
deep rosy Ulac. Among the best of the standard summer 
flowering varieties are — of the pure white — Mrs. Jenkins; 
Frau Anton Buchner; Jeanne d'Arc, which come into bloom 
in the order mentioned and are especially good; Frau Anton 
Buchner has the largest individual flowers of any white sort. 
Among the brightest of the crimson and red sorts are 
Tragedie, brilliant carmine; Coquelicot, pure scarlet with 
crimson eye; Henry Marcel, red with bright salmon shading; 
Siebold, one of the best bright reds; Vesuvius, dazzKng red 
with purple eye. Between these there is a wide range of 
colors, shading through lilac, light pink, mauve, magenta; 
Elizabeth Campbell, salmon pink with red eye; Thor, some- 
what similar but darker color; Gefion, peach pink; W. C. 
Egan, a newer sort and one of the best both in vigor and 
color, — lilac with bright center — and with immense in- 
dividual flowers; Bridesmaid, white with crimson eye; 
Mme. Paul Dutrie, soft hlac rose, extra large flowers and 
panicles; Rynstrom, carmine rose; La Vague, pure mauve. 
These are all splendid varieties but can be bought very rea- 
sonably, from fifteen to twenty-five cents each, or in collec- 
tions at an average of little over the former figure. Your 
order for phloxes should also include some of the Arendsi 
type; this new race is entirely distinct, — of very vigorous, 
branching habit, only one to two feet high, coming into 
bloom between the early flowering tall sorts and those de- 
scribed above, and are more free-flowering than any others. 
The late blooming phloxes will not be ready for re-setting 
until well into October, and may be set from then until 



244 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

November; i8'' apart is the proper distance for most vari- 
eties, and the taller or stronger growing can be given a little 
more. The old clumps should be cut up into separate 
pieces, containing several shoots only, using an edger or a 
very sharp spade. Do not be tempted to keep more plants 
than you have room for, even though you have to throw 
some away, — although there are generally friends available 
who would be very glad to use them in their gardens. 

Planting and Replanting Peonies 

Peonies can remain longer in one position without any 
necessity for replanting than most of the perennials. They 
are very hardy, free from insects, and usually from disease. 
The new peony disease has not become widespread and if 
the plants are bought from a nursery where one is sure that 
they are healthy, it is not likely to cause trouble. The plants 
are not particular as to soil; and the ordinary garden soil in 
which vegetables or flowers do well is all right, but one 
should be selected that is rather heavy, if it is available. 

Although the flowering season is usually over early in July, 
the plants continue to grow for some time; the growth should 
be encouraged as it stores up energy in the fleshy roots for 
next season, in the same way as rhubarb or asparagus; but 
the foliage will have completed its growth and will begin to 
ripen off by the middle of September, and the sooner the 
plants are put in or replanted after that the better. As 
each root, although it may seem quite small when put in, 
will make a very large clump within the course of a very few 
years, they should be planted from two to three feet apart, 
and nearly that distance from other plants, where they are 
set in the hardy border. It is a good plan to set out some 
of the early, flowering spring bulbs near them in the border, 
as these are gone by before the peonies require the room. 
Care should be taken that the manure used is old and does 
not come into contact with the fleshy roots when setting 
the plants out. Very frequently the roots are set too deep. 
The crown of the root after covering should be only 2 to 



SEPTEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 245 



^2 



below the surface. While the peonies are sufficiently 
hardy to require no protection, the mulch which is applied 
to the mixed border will do no injury. And for the first 
season after planting, a mulch which may be of manure, 
is advisable, as it protects the soil from the heaving some- 
times produced by alternate freezing and thawing. The 
peony is one of the grossest feeders of all the garden flowers 
and the soil can scarcely be made too rich before planting 
or too much manure or fertilizer used thereafter. 

Twelve of the best varieties are Festiva Maxima, a giant 
white; Couronne d'Or, white with yellow and carmine; 
Duchesse de Nemours, sulphur white; Modeste Gurin, bright 
rose pink; Marie Lemoine, sulphur white, late blooming; 
Felix Crousse, brilliant red; Eugene Verdier, flesh pink; Del- 
icatissima, delicate, light pink; Mons. Jules Ehe, flesh pink; 
Madame Calot, early flowering pink; Mme. de Verneville, 
sulphur white with white center; La Tulipe, very large flower 
shading to white; and M. Krelage. A few plants also of the 
old Peonia OfficiaKs should also be used as these bloom some 
two weeks earlier than the varieties named above. 

The Iridescent'^ International Iris 

One of the best old-fashioned garden flowers was the iris, 
or blue flag, or fleur-de-lis. The clumps of blue flags in the 
front yards of old farm homes always give a fine air of dis- 
tinction. 

These old-fashioned irises were mostly of the type known 
in the catalogues as German iris. There are literally thou- 
sands of varieties on the market, representing the newest 
and best fashions. In colors they show almost every shade 
of blue, yellow and red, with some pretty fair whites. 

The blues are the best known and probably the most 
effective; but the yellows are also desirable. The reds are 
not so popularly distributed, but deserve much more 
general planting. They run mostly toward dull brownish 
and coppery shades, very rich and pleasing. 

These German irises thrive in any good garden soil — 



246 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

say a soil suited to potatoes or corn. They should be 
planted where they can be cultivated and where they 
need not be disturbed for several years. 

The Japanese irises when properly grown are larger and 
finer than the German varieties. In color they are mostly 
blue or white. A common belief assigns them to swampy 
spots along the shores of ponds, but this is hardly correct. 
In fact, the plants will not live in a soil where water stands. 
The soil must be rich and moist but well drained. Fine 
Japanese irises may be grown in any garden where the 
soil is reasonably heavy and retentive. 

The Iris, like the phloxes, must be carefully selected as to 
species in order to get the longest season of bloom possible. 
By a proper selection they can be had from early spring until 
past midsummer; the two most widely known species are 
the German Iris and the Japanese Iris, — I. Germanica, and 
/. Kaempferi, respectively; the former bloom the earlier, 
beginning to flower in May. A new species, Iris Interregna, 
blooms still earlier and the flowers are of fine form and 
of clear and distinct colors. The German Iris should be 
planted on well-drained soil, the roots shghtly covered; they 
appreciate plenty of sun. The Japanese Iris, on the other 
hand, while succeeding in almost any soil, and in either sun 
or partial shade, require plenty of water, particularly while 
they are developing their flowers; all are quite readily re- 
planted, but the Japanese sorts do not increase rapidly. 
In planning for a succession of bloom, either in the mixed 
border, or in the iris beds, plants of the following species will 
bloom about in the order named. /. Pumila, the "baby" 
iris; Asiatica and Florentina, old sorts, smaller, but earlier 
flowering than the new German sorts; pumila hybrida, and 
interregna, newer species, — of each of which there are sev- 
eral good varieties, — having German parentage, but bloom- 
ing earlier; the regular German type, including such grand 
sorts as Madame Cherau, pure white with sky-blue edging, 
Pallida Dalmatica, lavender, with fall petals shaded blue, 
and very fragrant, Maori King, golden yellow with choc- 
olate falls, Queen of May, old rose, Mrs. H. Darwin, white 



SEPTEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 247 

with violet veining, King of Iris, yellow and brown, extra 
fine; the Siberian iris (/. Sihirica) including several good 
sorts, orientalis being the earliest, and one of the best, and 
Snow Queen, a new ivory white, a good companion to it; 
the Japanese iris, concluding the season's bloom, with a few 
stray blooms up to the end of July, the grandest of all, with 
the widest range of color and combinations, but the varieties 
are not as generally known by name because their Japanese 
nomenclature means little to American gardeners, and the 
unregulated re-naming of varieties which has taken place 
has resulted in much confusion, so that the most satisfac- 
tory way is to order from descriptions, or, where it is pos- 
sible, personal inspection. 

The ''Spanish" and ''English" irises are quite distinct 
from the above, and usually Hsted as "bulbs." 



September: Fifth Week 

BULBS FOR WINTER BLOOM: NARCISSI, HYA- 
CINTHS, AND TULIPS FOR FORCING; OTHER 
FLOWERING BULBS; CUTTINGS TO ROOT 
NOW 

Of all the flowers available for indoor culture in the winter 
window garden, bulbs give the greatest assurance of suc- 
cess with the least trouble. Their requirements are the 
simplest; they are perhaps the cheeriest of all flowers; 
many of them are deliciously fragrant; their cost is trifling; 
and they may be had in a constant succession of bloom 
throughout the winter and early spring. In fact, with the 
proper facilities for storing them after planting, practically 
all the work for a whole winter's succession of flowers can 
be done in one afternoon; they are then simply taken from 
their winter quarters into warmth and light as required, 
with about as Httle trouble as it takes to get the day's 
supply of canned vegetables from the cellar shelf. 

The cultural requirements of bulbs for winter bloom, 
although simple, are imperative. They may be mentioned 
in order as follows: Selection of suitable varieties; 
purchase of healthy, heavy bulbs; properly mixed soil; 
correct planting; development of root growth before forcing; 
a gradual start in forcing; and congenial conditions of light 
and temperature while growing and blooming. 

A great variety of bulbs are forced commercially, some 
of which the amateur grower, particularly the beginner, 
will do best to omit. With the possible exception of the 
lily-of-the-valley, the bulbs which the commercial grower 
can force have no advantages over those available for the 
window garden. The latter include hyacinths, narcissi, 
tulips of some varieties, Easter lilies, freesias and gladioli. 

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SEPTEMBER: FIFTH WEEK 249 

Hyacinths for Forcing 

Some of the best varieties of hyacinths for forcing are La 
Grandesse, and L'Innocence, and Madame Van der Hoop, 
(early) all pure white. Among the red shades are Baron 
Van Thuyll, Gertrude, Gigantea and Robert Steiger; 
City of Harlem, yellow, and King of the Yellows; and 
Czar Peter and Grand Maitre, light blue and deep blue 
respectively, and Queen of the Blues, make a dozen sorts, 
giving a good range of color. These are all large singles. 
The double sorts may be forced, but usually they do not give 
as satisfactory results, and to most people, are not nearly 
as attractive in appearance as the single sorts. A hya- 
cinth at best is a stiff and artificial looking flower, but the 
double varieties are even more so than the single. The 
Roman hyacinths, are quite distinct from any of the above, 
and much more graceful, sending up many stalks from a 
blub. It is wonderfully fragrant. It is one of the easiest 
of all bulbs to force and is the earhest, flowering by Thanks- 
giving if started early in September. It may be had in 
pale pink and blue shades as well as in the white, but the 
latter is the universal favorite. 

Narcissi and Tulips for Forcing 

Among the Narcissi, the two that are the best known 
and should be found in succession throughout the winter 
in every window garden, are Paper White and the Chinese 
Sacred Lily; both are too well known to need description; 
the latter is universally grown in pebbles and water. The 
Paper White is usually forced in soil Hke the other bulbs, 
but will give equally good results and will come into bloom 
much sooner when treated in the same way as the sacred 
lily. Along with these should be mentioned the new Nar- 
cissus Poetaz Hybrids. This beautiful new race lends it- 
self readily to forcing, either in pots or in pebbles. Of the 
"Trumpet" sorts, the Trumpet Major is one of the surest 
and earliest and may be had in flower by Christmas. Hors- 



2 so AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

fieldii is another of the best and earliest. Others good for 
forcing are Princeps; Glory of Leiden; Emperor; Golden 
Spur; and Victoria. If these do not afford a sufficiently 
wide range of form and color, other new and old varieties 
may be drawn upon. 

The tulips are not so well adapted to forcing as the hy- 
acinths and narcissi but may be used with success. They 
are so decidedly different that, unless one is Hmited in the 
number of things which can be grown, at least a few will 
repay the trouble required. Early varieties should be 
selected, such as the Due Van Tholls, in various colors, 
from the single early flowering section, and Kaiser Kroon, 
and Murillo from the double flowering; the May flowering 
sorts, planted at the same time, will flower a little later, 
and the Darwins will finish up the succession of bloom in 
March and April. 

Bulbs should always be purchased only from a thoroughly 
reliable source. Almost always for forcing purposes, it is bet- 
ter to pay the price and get the largest there are to be had. 
These are usually listed as Mammoth, Jumbo or some other 
super-superlative term. ''First size" bulbs will also give 
results. Very often, two or three smaller bulbs, planted 
together, will be very much more effective than a single 
large one, although the individual flowers may not be quite 
so big. Hyacinths cost from ten to twenty-five cents apiece; 
Roman hyacinths, from fifty to seventy-five cents a dozen; 
narcissi and tulips, from twenty -five to seventy-five cents a 
dozen; crocuses, from fifteen to twenty-five cents per dozen; 
freesias, twenty-five to fifty cents a dozen; gladioli, twenty- 
five to fifty cents a dozen, and Easter lilies, ten to forty 
cents apiece. When ordering, it is well to specify that bulbs 
are to be sent as soon as received. Tulips, and hyacinths 
and narcissi which are wanted for early flowering, should be 
started as soon as you can get them. Where you are buy- 
ing the bulbs personally, select those of regular form, round 
and plump. If there is any choice between plumpness and 
size, the former will usually be the safer bet. Bulbs which 
have become slightly shrivelled in transportation, may 



SEPTEMBER: FIFTH WEEK 251 

often be restored to good condition by placing them in 
slightly moist sawdust or moss in a shaded place. If this 
does not seem to restore them, it will be best not to risk 
planting them. All bulbs which are to be kept on hand for 
planting later, should be packed in sawdust in a box or 
wrapped in heavy paper away from the light and high 
temperature. 

Soil for Forcing Bulbs 

The most important thing about the soil for bulb forcing 
is to have it friable enough to drain rapidly and thoroughly. 
A mixture of garden loam, manure so old that it is thor- 
oughly disintegrated (or manure and leaf mold mixed to- 
gether, if only ordinary manure is to be had), and sand, will 
give the results sought. The two former may be mixed half 
and half, and enough sand be added so that it will crumble 
readily when moist. There will be Httle danger of getting 
too much sand, even if added in an amount equal to the 
soil. In case neither manure or leaf mold are to be had, 
a few thick sods taken up by the roadside and then shaved 
with a sharp spade or an old knife, mixed with sand and 
enriched with fine, ground bone, two quarts or so to the 
bushel, will answer the purpose. ^ ' Humus ' ' also is excellent. 

In planting, ordinary flower pots, ''bulb pans," which are 
very shallow flower pots, or flats may be used. For general 
purposes, the bulb pans are the most satisfactory. The 6" 
size costs about seven cents, and the 10" about twenty 
cents apiece. If the flowers are to be used for cutting, or to 
be brought into a conservatory, the flats, which may be 
made in smaller sizes than those ordinarily used, are more 
convenient, as they hold more bulbs and do not dry out 
so quickly. Bulbs which have made their root growth in 
flats may be later planted in pots to be taken into the house, 
thus economizing space during the preliminary part of their 
growth. 

Whatever is used in the way of a container, the essen- 
tial things in plantings are to see that good drainage is 




252 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

provided and that the bulbs are planted to a suitable depth 
for the kind being used. Sphagnum moss (B) excelsior, or 
screenings should be placed in the bottom of the flat, or a 
few pebbles or pieces of broken flower pot (A) put in the 

bottoms of the pots or bulb pans, 
before planting. Then put in a 
layer of soil (C), on top of this 
place the bulbs, about a half inch 
to an inch and a half apart. After 
being placed, they should be cov- 
ered in firmly. Hyacinths should 
be left about a half inch below 
the surface; tulips a little deeper, 
while the tops of the narcissi 
which are more elongated, will 
often come up to the surface of the soil. A very thorough 
watering should be given after setting, and as soon as any 
surplus has had a chance to drain off, the flats, pots or 
pans should be set away to make root growth. 

The Easter lily, unHke the other bulbs, forms roots on the 
base of the flower stalk as well as at the bottom of the bulb 
itself; for this reason, and also to give it as firm a support as 
possible, it should be planted well to the bottom of the pot 
and only partly covered at first, or else planted in a small 
pot and repotted again once or twice during the early 
stages of growth into larger pots, putting it well at the 
bottom each time, and filling it in about the stalk with new 
earth. 

The Secret of Success 

The "secret of success" with bulb culture, so far as there 
is one, is in getting a good, strong root growth before the 
tops are aUowed to start. Darkness, low temperature and 
sufficient moisture to keep the soil from getting dry are 
the conditions required to achieve this result. Freezing 
later on, before they are taken into the house, will not hurt. 
But for convenience in getting at them they are usually 
kept in a cool cellar or in a dark closet, or in a cold-frame 



SEPTEMBER: FIFTH WEEK 253 

or in a trench covered with Htter and leaves enough to 
prevent hard freezing. 

Before putting them away, every pot and flat should be 
carefully labelled. Don't trust to your memory! 

If no cellar is available and you have not a cold-frame, 
dig a trench or a square with dirt sides some \2" to 18'' 
deep, but large enough to accommodate your flats or 
pots or pans. They can then be placed in this in just the 
order in which you want to take them into the house, 
so that you can start at one end of the trench and remove 
them in order as required. Dry coal ashes make an ex- 
cellent covering, or soil can be used. Either should be 
about Z" deep, and on the approach of freezing weather, 
leaves and Htter enough to prevent freezing should be 
placed over this. Bulbs stored thus will need no further 
attention until time to bring them in. If they are kept in a 
cellar or in a closet they should be looked at occasionally 
and watered if the soil gets too dry; keeping them well 
covered with sphagnum moss will retard evaporation. 

The most proKfic source of failure with bulbs is in start- 
ing the tops before sufficient root growth has been made. 
The different kinds, and even the different varieties of the 
same kind, vary considerably in the time required for root 
development before they should be started. As a general 
rule, the longer they can be held back, the stronger the 
root development and the better flowers will be. Roman 
hyacinths and other early things that are wanted in bloom 
for a special time, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, can 
be brought in after six or eight weeks. But tuHps, and the 
later varieties of hyacinths and narcissus, will do better 
with ten or twelve weeks, so that the bulbs planted in the 
latter part of September or the first of October should not 
be taken in before December. 

In removing the bulbs to the house, they should at first 
be given a temperature of only forty to fifty degrees and 
kept in a somewhat subdued light, — some room that is not 
much used, with a north window being an ideal place. They 
should be given a thorough watering and allowed to re- 



254 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

main here for a week or so until they are well started. Then 
give them more heat or bring them into a warmer room so 
that they will have a temperature of fifty or sixty, and more 
light; but full sunlight is not good for the bulbs except for 
a few days just as the flowers are opening. Under the right 
conditions, the top growth will be very rapid and an abun- 
dance of water will be required. If the pots seem to dry out 
too quickly, it will be well to keep the saucers filled with 
water. Or the pots may be set in larger pots or pans and 
wet moss stuffed around them. A high temperature, dry 
air, or coal or illuminating gas, will prove fatal, blasting the 
buds even before they open. In addition to plenty of water, 
a watering with liquid manure or nitrate of soda, as the 
buds swell, will be found very beneficial. 

Insects are not likely to prove troublesome, but if they 
do, they should be treated at once. Some tobacco dust 
sprinkled about the soil and at the base of the leaves will 
prove effective as a preventive. Plenty of fresh air should 
be given at all times, — the more the better, so long as the 
plants are not chilled. When the blooms do open, if the 
plants can be kept in a cooler temperature in a somewhat 
subdued light, they will last much longer. 

Freesias and gladioli can be planted in much the same way 
as the bulbs which are mentioned above, but do not have 
to make prehminary root growth, although they should be 
kept cool for a few weeks after planting. 

Cuttings to Root Now 

Before danger of the first killing frost, make your first 
supply of cuttings of geraniums, heliotrope, verbenas and 
other tender perennials or annuals of which you will want 
plants for stock or for setting out early next spring. The 
directions as to how to make and root the cuttings are 
given elsewhere in this book. The cuttings can be rooted 
out of doors, if provision is made to give ample protec- 
tion against the first hard frosts, which are almost always 



SEPTEMBER: FIFTH WEEK 255 

followed by two or three weeks of good growing weather. 
Place the flats of sand in which the cuttings are to be rooted 
where they can be shaded, and cover, when necessary, 
with old bags or rugs, — in a frame, on the north side of a 
building, or in the shade of the veranda, are good places. 
Water the sand well before putting in the cuttings, and then 
give only enough to keep the sand thoroughly moist, not 
soaking wet. Pot up as soon as the roots are a quarter of 
an inch or so long. 



October: First Week 

HOT-BED AND COLD-FRAME GARDENING: 
EQUIPMENT; SOIL; HEATING; VARIETIES 
OF VEGETABLES FOR FORCING 

The ''frames'^ — the cold-frame and its artificially heated 
counterpart, the hot-bed — are ordinarily looked upon as a 
garden adjunct the main purpose of which is to get plants 
started a month or two earlier in the spring, so that certain 
crops in the garden may be forwarded to that extent. In 
this case the sash are used only for about three months in 
the year and He idle for the rest of the time. But where one 
wishes to get the maximum results from his garden space 
and garden equipment, such half-efficient management 
should be changed, as the frames may be used to advantage 
for seven or eight months in the year instead of three. This 
is especially desirable where the garden space is limited, as 
it is in the great majority of suburban places; and, further- 
more, it is not only a matter of having more garden produce 
than could otherwise be grown, but of having it at a season 
when it is especially valuable — such things as lettuce, 
radishes, green onions, and spinach, which you have usually 
not had before May and June, during the winter months; 
and such things as beans, cucumbers, muskmelons, etc., 
which ordinarily you do not have until well along toward 
the end of the season, during early summer. 

In planning to make your frames a really important part 
of your garden operations, two things must be provided 
first of all — soil which is naturally thoroughly drained and 
will not become wet and soggy through the w^inter and early 
spring months, and an abundance of water to use in dry 
weather when it is needed. You must realize at the outset 
that cold-frame gardening is a highly intensified form of 
gardening, and that therefore to be successful with it you 

256 



OCTOBER: FIRST WEEK 257 

must have the factors for success, of which water is, of 
course, a vitally important one, well under control. At the 
same time, it is just as well for you to realize that the returns 
from it on the basis of the amount of space allotted to it 
will be much higher than from any other part of your gar- 
den. For instance, outdoors you set your rows of lettuce 
twelve to fifteen inches apart and set out the heads or thin 
them to about twelve inches. In the cold-frames fifty heads 
are set to a space three by six feet (eight inches each w^ay), 
from which space outside you would get eighteen or twenty 
heads. 

Three Kinds of Sash 

The equipment for intensive gardening of this sort is a 
little more diversified, but on the whole much less expensive 
than ordinarily supposed. You are probably familiar with 
the ordinary cold-frame — a box or frame with sides of wood 
covered with a standard glass sash (size three by six feet), 
and provided with a wooden shutter or a straw mat for 
covering in extreme cold weather. The equipment which I 
am going to recommend contains sash of three distinct 
sorts, each of the three especially valuable for its special use. 
In the first place, there are the double light sash; these cost 
a Httle more than the others, for they are made with a 
double layer of glass with an air space between them which, 
being an efficient non-conductor, answers the purpose of the 
mat or shutter in keeping out the cold, but with this great 
advantage, that at the same time it will let all the sunshine 
in. The double light sash is a distinct and valuable im- 
provement in the way of garden equipment, and is proving 
wonderfully valuable to thousands of places. But it is when 
used to supplement sash of the ordinary kind rather than 
to take the place of them, that one gets the greatest amount 
of service from them. Because with the double light sash, 
where one has no greenhouse, seeds may be sown and the 
plants started and grown to a size large enough to transplant 
to the frame under the regular sash at a season when, under 
the old methods, you would just be starting them. 



258 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The standard sash, three feet by six in size (and preferably 
having three instead of four rows of glass, as more light is 
obtained) does not need any description here, as everyone 
is familiar with it; of these, one should have two or three 
times as many as of the double sash; and then there are the 
sash made with light wooden frames and covered with pro- 
tecting cloth; these are not nearly so well known nor so 
largely used as they should be, but they will keep off several 
degrees of frost and for many uses will answer just as well, 
and in some cases even better than glass: and, furthermore, 
in severe weather they can be used in the place of mats or 
shutters over the glass sash. 

The frames on which the sash are supported may be of 
inch boards and two by four inch uprights for holding these 
in place; the usual dimensions are two feet in back and a 
foot and a half in front, which gives a slope sufficient to 
carry all the rain water off the sash, and also catches the 
sunHght at a better angle. Frames which are to be used as 
hot-beds — that is, supplied with manure to give artificial 
heat in cold weather — should be made a foot or eighteen 
inches deeper on the inside. While the board frames may 
be banked up with earth on the outside, so as to be imper- 
vious to frost and cold wind, and, if substantially made, 
will last for a number of years, nevertheless, it is far better 
to go to a little more trouble and possibly a greater expense, 
and have the frames made of concrete. If you cannot have 
them all made this way, then those which are to be used as a 
hot-bed at least should be so constructed, as these are used 
for more months in the year and the rotting caused by the 
manure will cause them, if made of wood, to go to pieces more 
quickly than the ordinary cold-frames. A sill or cap of 
wood or iron — preferably the latter — may be bought to put 
on top of the concrete, and is so constructed that the sash 
will fit firmly on it. 

The Cost oj Equipment 

The amount of garden stuff which can you get out of a 
limited space which is taken up by your frames is truly re- 



OCTOBER: FIRST WEEK 259 

markable; not only because the planting is done more 
closely in the frames, but because where several crops may 
be taken from it each season you would get one or two from 
the garden. A ten-sash frame used in connection with the 
regular garden would give an ample supply of winter and 
early spring vegetables to a good sized family, besides fur- 
nishing room to winter over such things as might be re- 
quired and an ample supply of plants for the garden in the 
spring. For such a cold-frame garden a convenient division 
of the sash would be as follows: Two double Hght sash cost- 
ing about $7.00, four single light sash costing $10.00, four 
cloth-covered sash costing $2.00, three double-sized burlap 
mats costing $3.00 — a total of $22.00. 

In addition to this, the lumber for the frame would cost 
from $5.00 to $10.00, depending upon the price per thousand 
feet in your vicinity. The cost of a concrete frame in- 
stead of a wooden one would depend almost entirely upon 
the price you would have to pay for the sand and gravel, 
as the amount of cement used would not be very great. In 
most instances, unless you have the sand and gravel on your 
own place, the cost would be more than for wood, but as 
has already been stated, it would be much cheaper in the 
end. After the frame is put up two partitions should be 
built across it, to divide the spaces for the two double-light 
sash, the four single-light sash, and the cloth-covered sash. 
If the frame is a long one it should be strengthened by cross- 
bars every three or four sashes apart, to keep the side 
walls from warping out of position; or they may be put in 
every three feet even with the sash as described above. 
It is a great convenience, however, to have them removable. 

Good Varieties for Frame Use 

It is time to begin work now for the crops you will want 
this fall and this winter. The first step in this direction 
is the selection of varieties of vegetables which are good 
for growing in frames, as the use of the wrong sorts, even 
with other conditions all favorable, may mean failure in- 



26o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

stead of success. In lettuce there is Grand Rapids for the 
loose heading sort and Big Boston and Wayahead, both of 
which make fine, sohd crisp heads and will thrive in a cool 
temperature. For your first attempt it will be best to try 
several varieties, so that you can tell which will give you the 
best results under the conditions which you have. The 
Grand Rapids, grown under glass, is deliciously tender, and 
in my opinion in no way inferior to the head lettuces, al- 
though the latter are, of course, more blanched in the cen- 
ters. Of radishes there are a number of good sorts for using 
in frames, but after trying a number of varieties I now use 
nothing but the Crimson Giant Globe and the White Icicle. 
Both these varieties, besides being of good size and quick 
to mature, have the further great advantage of remaining 
an extraordinarily long time without growing pithy, so that 
not more than half the number of plantings have to be made 
as with such sorts as the old-fashioned French Breakfast. 
Of cauliflowers, both Early Snowball and Best Extra Early 
make a very compact, quick growth, and are early maturing 
and well suited to growth in frames. Either Victoria or 
Hardy Winter spinach is suitable for winter growth under 
glass, and the former, while it will not stand quite so much 
cold, is of better quality. Personally, however, I prefer 
Swiss chard, which will give you repeated cuttings, and 
where the weather is not too severe can be used right through 
the winter until you need the frame for other purposes in the 
spring. 

Of the vegetables suitable for fall planting, the lettuce, 
cauliflower and parsley should be started early, the latter 
part of August or early in September, and transplanted later 
to the frames. The radishes, spinach or Swiss chard and 
also onions for bunch onions early in the spring, and carrots, 
if you prefer to use some of your cold-frame space to have 
these fresh rather than to depend upon those stored in the 
cellar, should be planted where they are to grow, but the 
rows may be made and the beds prepared long before it is 
necessary to use the glass to protect them from cold weather. 
If you put them in about the same time that you sow the 




Plate 24. — Slatted or open work boxes and barrels and the usual tight boxes 
and barrels for storing vegetables and fruit for winter. All of the containers 
shown here can be purchased second hand at any grocery store. {Lower) 
Beets and carrots packed in moist sphagnum moss for storing for winter. 
Moss is much cleaner and lighter than sand, and is especially useful where one 
has not a regular cellar in which to store winter crops. 



OCTOBER: FIRST WEEK 261 

others for the first group they will give you results early in 
the winter. 

Soil for Frame Gardening 

The soil in the frames should be made rich, mellow and 
deep by the addition of well-rotted manure to the soil, or by 
filling in, unless the soil that is in the frame is already in good 
condition, with several inches of good garden soil. The 
ground should be soaked thoroughly at least several hours 
before planting, and it is advisable to have some method of 
shading the seed bed until after the plants are up, in case 
of hot, dry weather. An excellent way of doing this is to 
use one or two of the frames for the seed bed. Then one of 
the cloth-covered sash may be put over this, supported on a 
temporary framework a foot or two above the frame, and 
furnishing the right degree of shade without excluding the 
air. The lettuce and cauKflower should be transplanted 
once before being set in their permanent positions, giving 
the little seedlings three or four inches space each way. 
The soil for radishes should not be very rich, and especially 
should it be free from stable manure and supplied with 
plenty of lime or plaster, otherwise there will be excessive 
leaf growths with small and poor quality roots. 

As already stated, the hot-bed is different from the cold- 
frame (which depends for its heat upon the retention of the 
warmth from the sun's rays), in being heated artificially, 
either by fermenting manure or, in rare instances, by hot 
water or steam pipes. Now, while your earliest crop of 
lettuce or cauKflower can go directly into the cold-frames 
and mature there, the crop which is to follow that, and 
which will be ready about Christmas time, will in most 
locaHties need some artificial heat to carry it through. 
Therefore, while the plants are growing, make preparations 
to furnish the heat as follows: 

Preparing the ^' Heat'' for a Hot-bed 

Secure a supply of manure, getting that from a livery 
stable, if possible. This should be in good condition and 



262 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

not ^'fire-fanged"; that is, not burned to a gray ash ap- 
pearance by its own heat. This should be composted with 
litter or leaves, putting in about a third in bulk of the 
latter material. Pile up the whole in a square heap and 
give it a thorough wetting, and after about three or four 
days fork it over, at the same time turning it ''inside out," 
or putting what was outside into the middle when you 
repack it. For best results this operation should be re- 
peated three or four times, after tramping it down firmly 
each time. Half a cord of manure will be enough for two 
or three sashes, as it should be packed in from one to two 
feet deep, according to the severity of the cKmate and 
the vegetables to be grown on it, and be covered with four 
or, still better, six inches of soil. This manure, of course, 
after it is used in the hot-beds will be as good as any other 
for use on your garden or to enrich the cold-frames next 
spring. The manure should be put in the frames a few days 
before you want to use it, and its gradual fermentation will 
then continue to give off heat for a long period. 

After setting the plants in their frames in their perma- 
nent position they will require no care except an occasional 
watering to keep the soil in good, moist condition, and the 
going over the bed with the hand weeder to keep the soil in 
good, loose condition. As cold weather approaches, how- 
ever, it will be necessary to put the sash on, and then your 
real work begins, first because you have got to attend strictly 
to seeing that they get proper ventilation, and, furthermore, 
the moisture from rain being cut off, you will have to be more 
careful about the watering. There is only one rule about 
ventilation — give all the fresh air you possibly can while 
maintaining the proper temperature. On bright days strip 
the sash off altogether, and in rainy weather when it is not 
too cold. The two greatest troubles with lettuce under 
glass are the green lice (aphids) and rot. The former may 
be taken care of by spreading tobacco stems or tobacco dust 
about the bed under the leaves of the plants, and if this does 
not keep them away, at the very first sign of one, spray 
thoroughly with '' Aphine, " ''Black Leaf 40" or some other 



OCTOBER: FIRST WEEK 263 

nicotine preparation. Rot is caused by too close a tempera- 
ture or by water lodging in the axles of the leaves; there- 
fore aim to be careful about giving proper ventilation, 
and in watering see that the soil only is wet, keeping the 
water off the leaves as much as possible. For this reason 
also it is a good plan to water only in the early morning, 
so that the sunlight will have a chance to dry off the sur- 
face before night. 



October : Second Week 

PLANTING BULBS FOR NEXT YEAR'S BLOOM: 
PROPAGATING ROSES 

One of the most important fall planting jobs is to get 
the spring-flowering bulbs into the ground in good season. 
The Dutch or French gardener who grew the bulb has made 
of it what is practically a finished product; the flower is 
already formed inside, in miniature, and requires only 
congenial surroundings to bring it to perfection. 

Bulbs will bloom the first year in almost any soil, provided 
they are not kept wet enough to rot. The roots of most 
varieties will stand an abundance of moisture below the 
liulb — can, in fact, be flowered in plain water, provided the 
bulb itself is held above the surface. But even the first 
season's bloom will be better in soil that is properly pre- 
pared, and in poor soil the bulbs will soon peter out, the 
blossoms becoming fewer and smaller each year. 

In congenial soils many sorts may be naturahzed and will 
bloom indefinitely without further attention. Others will 
continue to give good results as long as they are taken up 
every second or third year, when the bulbs have become so 
numerous as to crowd, and replanted. Most bulbs prefer 
a soil that is sandy in texture — in fact, the sandier the better, 
provided it is not too poor. Manure may be used to en- 
rich the bulb border or bed, but other materials give as 
good results and are safer. A mixture of bone meal and 
ashes, with soot added if it is obtainable, may be used gen- 
erously as a top-dressing, worked into the bed before the 
bulbs are planted. If the soil is lacking in humus it may be 
advisable to employ manure, but only that which is thor- 
oughly rotted; and it should be trenched, or stamped into 
the bottom of each furrow so it will be well below the bulbs 
when they are planted. Direct contact of the manure with 

264 



OCTOBER: SECOND WEEK 265 

the bulbs is Kkely to cause injury from rotting or disease. 
If possible it is always well to plant in soil in which bulbs, 
particularly those of the same kind, have not been grown 
recently. 

Perfect Drainage is Essential 

But no matter how rich and otherwise good the soil may 
be, perfect drainage is essential. There is little danger of 
being overthorough in this matter, because in the fall, when 
the root system is being developed, and in the spring, when 
the flowers are being produced, there is likely to be abun- 
dant rainfall. Bulbs can often be used successfully where 
other flowers would fail on account of midsummer droughts. 
In heavy soil, which naturally holds a great deal of water in 
fall or spring, the bed should either be raised a foot or so 
above the general level, with sod edges, or drained by put- 
ting a layer of coal ashes or other coarse material, six inches 
or so in depth, a foot below the surface. 

The beds should be well rounded up and made several 
weeks before planting. The soil will usually settle two or 
three inches, but it should be, after settling, high enough 
so that no surface water can collect on it from winter rain 
or melting snow when the ground is frozen. 

All these bulbs should be planted in the fall in order to 
get a good root growth before freezing weather. The 
narcissuses, daffodils and jonquils should be planted three 
to four inches deep to the tops of the bulbs, and put in as 
soon as received. 

Hyacinths should be put in three to five inches deep, 
in sandy soil, and it is better to use no manure in the beds. 
They should be planted about the time the maple leaves 
are beginning to change color. 

The Darwin and other large late tulips should be put 
four to six inches deep, and the early flowering sorts three 
to five inches deep. The tuHps may be left until the last 
to be planted — any time within two or three weeks after 
the leaves fall, or five or six weeks before hard freezing 
weather. 



266 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

The crocuses, bulbous irises, and other small bulbs should 
be planted when received. In very light soil planting should 
be an -inch or so deeper than the figures given above: in 
grass or sod slightly shallower planting will usually do, as 
they are more protected than in the open ground. 

While most of the bulbs do well in any kind of soil, for 
the best success it should be made rich; you should not, 
however, use fresh manure for this purpose, as portions of 
it are quite sure to come in contact with the bulbs and 
injure them. Bone meal, prepared sheep manure or very 
thoroughly rotted and fine stable manure may be used, or 
nothing at all added if the ground is in fairly good shape 
from manuring of previous plantings. 

While the bulbs may be set any time until the ground 
freezes, the best results are to be had if they are planted 
immediately after the first hard, killing frost, as this gives 
them a longer period in which to take root growth in the fall 
before the ground is frozen so hard that all growth stops. 
If put in too early, however, they will make some top 
growth, which should be avoided. If you have not yet 
ordered your bulbs for this year you should send in your 
order immediately. Get the bulb bed or border ready now, 
and plant as soon as you receive the bulbs from the seeds- 
man. 

How Deep to Plant Bulbs 

As to the depth at which they should be planted, place 
them down far enough, being sure to get them right side 
up, so that the top of the bulb is about one and one-half 
times as far below the surface as the bulb is thick through. 
This will give a depth of from three to four inches for the 
average size hyacinth and two to five inches for tulips, and 
two to four inches for the various sized narcissi. Where 
bulbs are naturalized in a sod they need not be put in quite 
so deep, as the sod and grass form part of the covering and 
also form some protection from freezing. 

In planting in the beds first lay out all the bulbs with their 
proper tags, to be sure of getting them evenly distributed 



OCTOBER: SECOND WEEK 267 

and correctly placed. If they are to be put in quite thickly, 
as in using hyacinths in designs in solid beds, it will some- 
times save time and insure perfect results to excavate the 
whole bed to the depth of several inches, put the bulbs in 
place, and cover. When several sorts are to be used in the 
same bed, planted at different depths, the same method 
may be used, starting with those to be planted deepest and 
covering a layer at a time. 

Usually the quickest method of planting is with a blunt 
dibble, marked plainly from two to ten inches, so that 
you can tell just how deep you are making the holes. A 
pail of coarse sand should also be at hand, and a handful 
or so placed in the bottom of each hole; this protects the 
bulb, insures good drainage directly under it, and prevents 
it from resting over an empty air-space left by the point of 
the dibble. 

The Bulbous Irises 

The Spanish irises seem to be less known than either 
the Germans or the Japs, but they deserve wide popularity. 
They may be grown easily almost anywhere. Moreover, 
they are the cheapest of all- irises, the bulbs usually costing 
only a few cents a hundred. They are more delicate in 
form and coloring than any of the popular sorts. 

All the common forms of iris should be transplanted in 
summer. Handling at the usual spring-gardening season 
is a direct injury and involves the loss of at least one year. 
At any time after the blossoms fall the plants may be lifted 
and divided and the separated root stocks put out wher- 
ever they are wanted. This highly important fact with 
respect to the time to transplant irises seems to be widely 
overlooked. 

Exception must be made, however, in the case of the 
Spanish irises. These grow from bulbs like tulips or cro- 
cuses. The bulbs are grown extensively in Holland and are 
brought to this country every fall along with the other 
bulbs, arriving in September. They should be planted out 
at once. They will make a splendid display the following 



268 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

spring, and in favoring soils will continue to grow and bloom 
for several years. Those who have never tried the Spanish 
irises should do so this fall. 

In planting lay out carefully all the bulbs first on the 
surface of the soil and then plant them. Or, if several 
different sorts are to be put in one bed, you can remove part 
of the surface of the soil and plant them in layers, putting 
in first those that grow, say, four inches deep, covering 
them with an inch of soil, then putting in the three-inch 
depth ones, covering another inch, and then the two-inch 
deep ones. 

As well as the bulbs which have been mentioned in detail 
in the preceding paragraphs there are a number of others 
valuable for fall planting for spring flowers, particularly 
where the longest possible succession of flowers is wanted — 
snowdrops, scillas and chionodoxas — all of which are suit- 
able for naturalizing in the grass and are the first to come 
into bloom. These are followed by the crocuses, and these, 
in turn, by the hyacinths, tulips and narcissi, with the 
hardy Klies completing the programme and carrying the 
succession of flowers in the garden from early April through 
July into August. 

All fall-planted bulbs, except those naturaHzed in sod, 
should be protected with a winter mulch. Leaves or straw 
should be used; manure, which is excellent for most pur- 
poses, should be avoided. The mulch should not be applied 
until after a week or so of continuous cold weather has 
frozen the surface of the ground. 

Prepare Hardwood Rose Cuttings to Root Next Winter 

It is not a difficult matter to increase your supply of 
garden roses from rooted cuttings. To grow plants by 
this method take cuttings of the current season's wood 
at the end of the growing season, allowing three eyes or 
buds to each cutting. Tie each variety in a bundle and 
bury outdoors until midwinter. Then strike them in moist 
sand in flats three inches deep. Be sure to get the lower bud 



OCTOBER: SECOND WEEK 269 

on the cutting — the one nearest the main stem — in the sand 
about an inch and have the sand fit tightly about it, or air 
will get in and prevent proper callusing and rooting. The 
two buds above the sand should send out shoots. 

In about twenty-five days they should be rooted enough 
to pot into two-inch pots, in loose, loamy soil, and put into 
heat and moist air. After the cuttings are struck water 
them only early in the morning, so the top of the sand will 
dry before night, or they may be attacked with a fungous 
disease known as cutting-bed fungus, for which there is no 
cure. When the two-inch pots are filled with roots change 
the plants to four-inch ones or set them at once in the 
borders where they are to remain. 



October: Third Week 

SAVING THE SEASON'S PRODUCE: HARVESTING 
AND STORING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

In harvesting, as in planting, the various crops may be 
considered in two general groups — the hardy and the tender. 
The small grower may not be able to have storage facilities 
especially designed to accommodate special crops, but he 
can provide suitable quarters by the use of a little ingenuity. 
A good dry, cool, tight cellar is of the greatest value for 
storage purposes, but even where such is not available, 
substitutes may be found. Among the tender crops which 
will need attention first, are the following: 

Squashes, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers should be 
gathered before danger of first killing frost. Usually a light 
"touch" that blackens the foHage will come first as a re- 
minder, but if it is getting late in the season, do not wait for 
this warning. The muskmelons and cucumbers may be cut 
where the stem joins the vine, but the squashes, pumpkins 
and watermelons should be cut with an inch or so of vine 
on each side of the stem, which should never be broken off. 

Brush the soil from under the side, and turn them bottom 
side up to dry thoroughly. Handle them always as if they 
were eggs. Even though the rind may seem quite hard it 
bruises very easily, and a bruise that cannot be seen at all 
when it is made will develop later into a decayed spot that 
will spread rapidly over the whole fruit and possibly spoil 
those next to it. The drier the air the better (an ideal place 
being in a room with a furnace or stove), but the temper- 
ature should be kept as near forty degrees as possible. 
Don't discard the small immature squashes gathered: these 
are the best to keep, and often may be had in good condition 
for the table after the larger ones have been used. Melons 

270 



OCTOBER: THIRD WEEK 271 

and cucumbers may be stored in straw or leaves in a dark 
cool place, and used up as they ripen. 

Beans. All the pole beans and most of the bush beans are 
good for winter use, gathered as soon as the pods dry, even 
if there is no danger of frost. If the work has to be done in 
a hurry, the plants may be pulled and hung up under cover 
where they will dry. 

Tomatoes. The first hard frost usually doubles the price 
of tomatoes. All the fruits on the vines should be gathered 
when the first hard frost threatens. The more mature will 
ripen up gradually for some time to come, and the green 
ones are usually in good demand for pickling. A few plants 
may be taken up and hung upside down in a shed or dry 
cellar, letting the fruit ripen on the vines, which it will con- 
tinue to do for a surprisingly long time. Some of the best 
of the green fruits placed in clean straw in a dry cold part 
of the cellar or storehouse or in a frame will often ripen for 
Thanksgiving and even later. 

Okra. The plants may be cut and the pods allowed to 
dry, and saved for use in soups or for flavoring. 

Sweet potatoes should be dug as soon as the tops are 
killed, dried thoroughly, and then stored in open crates in 
the attic near a chimney, or in some similar spot where they 
can be kept as dry and as warm as possible. 

Eggplants and peppers, though usually not injured by 
the first light frosts that blacken the leaves, should be 
gathered before danger of frosts that would blister the 
fruits, and kept in the same way as suggested for melons and 
cucumbers. 

Sweet Corn. When frost threatens, cut stalks and all, 
just as for field corn. It may be " shocked " in the same 
way, and the ears will remain in good condition much longer 
than if pulled from the stalks. 

Fruits. In picking the tree fruits too much care cannot 
be taken to prevent the slightest bruising. A bruise so 
slight as to be invisible at the time will develop into a de- 
cayed spot later. Only the soundest and greenest should be 
stored away. Barrels, or cracker boxes, which hold prac- 



272 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

tically a bushel each, make good containers. The latter for 
home use are more convenient. Pears should be stored in a 
dark, cool, well-ventilated place. The rapidity with which 
they ripen will depend to a large extent upon the temper- 
ature. For long keeping it should be kept as near thirty- 
two as possible. 

Late Crops for Winter Storing 

While a number of the late crops are handled in much the 
same way, three of the most important of them, — potatoes, 
onions, and celery, — require individual methods of treat- 
ment. 

Potatoes for storing should not be dug until they 
are thoroughly matured as indicated by both the firmness of 
the skin and the cooking quahties. Dead vines are not a 
sure guide, as they may dry up prematurely from drought, 
bhght or frost. In cases where it is due to blight the tubers 
in the soil will begin to rot, and should be left until all that 
are going to spoil have done so. Otherwise they will rot 
after digging. The tubers should be left in the sun long 
enough to get thoroughly dried off, but not to sun-burn, as 
this spoils the table quality. 

Onions. Success in keeping onions will depend very 
largely upon the care given in harvesting. After the tops 
dry down they should be pulled and laid in rows, and turned 
every day until they are thoroughly dried. Then they 
should be brought under cover — cutting off the tops or not, 
as conditions permit — where the air may circulate freely 
about them in all directions. Spread them out thin on the 
floor or pack them in slatted bushel crates. The white 
varieties must be cured under cover or they will turn green, 
and if they get a ghost of a chance begin to sprout again 
immediately. No onions, after the tops die, should be left 
in the ground. Before hard freezing weather they should be 
sorted over again and the soundest and driest stored for 
long keeping, the others being put aside for more immediate 
use. 



OCTOBER: THIRD WEEK 273 

Celery. Such celery as is wanted for early use is blanched 
in the field by drawing the earth up to the stalks in two or 
three successive hoeings; by the use of boards; or by the 
use of one of the convenient ''celery bleachers" now on 
the market. The latter are especially useful for the home 
garden, where only a few stalks are wanted at a time. The 
stalks should be blanched clear up to the foHage. That 
part of the crop wanted for winter and spring use should 
have the soil worked in about the stalks sufficiently to 
hold them in an upright position. Upon the approach 
of hard frosts, about November first, part of it may be 
''trenched," or blanched in a long narrow ditch, dug in 
some well-drained convenient position. It should be 
about a foot wide and deep enough to take the celery plants, 
standing on end as they grew, with the tips of the foliage 
about level with the soil surface. It should be taken up, 
roots and all, and packed in close in the trench. As hard 
freezing weather approaches the tops should be covered 
with meadow hay and boards to prevent freezing. This will 
keep in good condition until the advent of real winter 
weather. 

The part of the crop wanted for winter and early spring 
use should be taken up, before hard frosts, and stored in long 
narrow boxes about a foot wide and deep enough to take the 
plants upright, packed in snugly together. As in trenching, 
the roots should be left on, and a couple of inches of moist 
sand should be put in the bottom of each box. These boxes 
may then be packed in a cold dark cellar, and the stalks will 
blanch out by the time they are needed. Boxes of the re- 
quired shape and size may readily be made from plain pine 
boards, with a row of small holes bored in the ends of each 
to serve as handles. Celery should be handled or stored 
only when it is perfectly dry. 

Beets, carrots, and turnips and radishes will not 
be injured by the first light frosts. Parsnips and salsify 
(or oyster plant) may be left in the ground all winter, with- 
out injury, but of course the bulk of these crops should be 
taken up, as once the ground freezes, it is next to impossible 



274 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

to get the roots out until spring. All these root crops should 
be gathered and "topped," being careful not to cut too close, 
causing the roots to bleed, and stored temporarily in piles 
so that they may be covered at night if there is danger of 
freezing. To keep well for a long period they should not 
only be stored in a dark cold place, where the temperature 
may be kept well down toward the freezing point, but 
should be packed in sand or moss. The only objection to 
the former material is its great weight. Sphagnum or swamp 
moss may be gathered free in most places, or a few bushels 
bought from a local florist. It is clean, and Hght, and stays^ 
moist without being wet, for a long time, making an ideal 
packing for the root crops. 

Cabbage. A small quantity may be kept in a storeroom 
if it is cool and dark. A good way is to tie several heads 
together, first removing the outside leaves, by the roots, and 
suspend from a nail. Where any amount is to be saved, 
however, it is usually 'Spitted." A common method is to 
simply dig a trench wide enough to take two heads side by 
side, and deep enough so that when another head is placed 
on top, the roots will come about level with the surface of 
the soil. Cabbages should not be trenched or pitted until 
cold weather, and as hard freezing weather sets in should be 
gradually covered up with meadow hay, corn stalks or other 
mulching sufficiently deep to prevent their freezing hard. 
Those to be kept over winter, through very hard freezing, 
should have a layer of earth over the mulch, and a second 
layer of mulch over this. The trench may be lined with 
hay, straw, or boards to make more certain of keeping the 
contents dry and clean. Brussels sprouts and kale may 
be left where they grow, as they are perfectly hardy. 

Lettuce will stand more or less cold weather, and may be 
had for several weeks later than usual by simply covering 
it with bog hay to protect it from the first frosts, after 
which we frequently have two or three weeks of good grow- 
ing weather. Small plants, which were started in August 
or September, may be transplanted to the cold-frames in 
October, where by the use of double sash, they may be 



Plate 26.— Rose bush protected by pine boughs tied in position with tarred 
string. {Lower) Chicken wire border to hold mulch in place for a hardy border 
or a rose bed. 



OCTOBER: THIRD WEEK 275 

had through most of the winter, even in quite severe 
dimates. 

Parsley should be cut back severely, a few roots taken 
up and put in pots or a small box, with drainage holes in the 
bottom, and after being allowed to root for a week or so in 
a cool shaded place, may be kept throughout the winter in 
any light place where the temperature does not go below 
forty at night. 

Substitutes for Cellars 

If a furnace is used, a double partition should separate it 
from the part of the cellar used for storing the vegetables. 
Where the cellar is only one large room such a partition may 
be cheaply and quickly put up with *'wallboard," which 
comes in large sheets and is very easy to use. Where no 
cellar is available a room on the north side of the house, 
which may be kept dark and cool but safe from freezing on 
cold nights, may be utilized to advantage. Root crops may 
be stored in a pit, like cabbage. 

All fruits and vegetables should be clean, dry and sound 
when stored, and the storage room and boxes and barrels 
kept perfectly clean. Cellars should be whitewashed every 
fall. Ventilation is also very important. Until freezing 
weather ventilation should be given on cold nights, and shut 
off during warm days, the aim being to keep the temper- 
ature as constant as possible — about 35 degrees F. being 
right for most vegetables. Where any amount of things are 
to be stored it will pay well to get a few each of the following: 
sugar or flour barrels; clean cracker boxes; slatted crates; 
slat vegetable barrels; and peach baskets, which are handy 
for small amounts. 



October : Fourth Week 

FRESH VEGETABLES ALL WINTER: PLAN TO 
KEEP THE SMALL GREENHOUSE BUSY WITH 
SUCCESSION CROPS UNTIL SPRING 

At least some of the fresh vegetables which winter gar- 
dening makes possible should be enjoyed by every possessor 
of a greenhouse, no matter how small it is. Anyone whose 
gardening experience has been confined wholly to crops out- 
of-doors will be surprised at the very small amount of space 
required to furnish the average home table with such fresh 
vegetables as are usually forced during the winter months. 
Take lettuce, for instance: in the garden, under what you 
consider intensive cultivation, you plant it 12 inches apart 
each way — 144 square inches to a plant. Under glass, it 
can be grown as close together as 6 inches each way for the 
loose leaf kind, and 7x7 inches for the heading sort — 36 and 
49 square inches, respectively! At the former distance, on 
a bench space only 3x6 feet, seventy-two heads can be 
grown. True, for commercial purposes, these distances are 
usually increased an inch each way; but, where the crop is 
to be used for the home table, and where every other head 
can be taken out, before they are quite matured, the dis- 
tances named are ample. 

I have grown tomatoes successfully as close together as 
18 inches each way; and in a small greenhouse, where many 
flowers are grown, and where space is not available for 
tomatoes, I have seen them grown successfully in wooden 
boxes about 15 inches square and 8 deep, which were placed 
upon the floor in positions where the vines could be trained 
up. In both cases they were, of course, trained to a single 
stalk and a great deal of the foHage removed. Cucumbers 
may be handled in much the same way. Where forced 
commercially they are usually given at least 8 feet of head 

276 



OCTOBER: FOURTH WEEK 277 

room, but it is possible to grow them on a side bench within 
two feet or so of the glass, the vines being trained on heavy 
string or wires run some 6 inches below the glass and sup- 
ported from the sash bars. Half a dozen vines, with good 
results, will yield a generous supply of cucumbers at a time 
when a single one is prized. 

Radishes mature so quickly where they are given ideal 
conditions that they may be used as a "catch'' crop be- 
tween other vegetables, or a short piece of row 2 or 3 feet 
long sown every week — the rows need be only 4 to 6 inches 
apart — ^will keep the table supplied with delicious, crisp 
roots. 

Varieties for Under Glass Gardening 

In achieving success with vegetable forcing in winter, 
nothing is more important than the selection of suitable 
varieties. The loose leaf type will do better than the head 
lettuces, and for winter use, nothing is superior to Grand 
Rapids. It not only takes less room than a heading sort, 
but matures in a shorter time, can be eaten at any and every 
stage of development and is the healthiest and easiest to 
grow of any lettuce I have ever tried under glass. If, 
however, you must have a head lettuce, there is none 
superior in quality to the little Mignonette, and it can be 
planted as close together as 6 or 7 inches. Other sorts that 
can be used, however, are Hitinger's Belmont, Hothouse, 
Boston Market, and Big Boston, the last thriving well in a 
cooler temperature than that required for the other sorts, 
except Grand Rapids. 

Of radishes which can be grown in the same temperature 
as lettuce, Rapid Red is one of the earHest and best of the 
small or button type. Personally, however, I prefer Crim- 
son Giant, a sort which, while it does not mature as early 
as many others, is large enough to eat as soon as any of them 
and retains its good quality until it attains large size. 
Comet is a good tomato for inside use; the fruits, while not 
as large as those grown outside, are specially pleasing in 
appearance and are superior in quality. Bonnie Best and 



278 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Chalk's Early Jewel I have also grown successfully inside. 
The English forcing varieties of tomato are especially fine. 
Of cucumbers, Davis's Perfect and Vickery's Forcing are 
both excellent kinds. Telegraph and Sion House are proved 
varieties of the English cucumbers, which grow to a much 
greater length than the American sorts and are generally 
considered to be of much superior quality. Of beets. Early 
Model, EcHpse, and Crosby's Egyptian are good for forcing, 
but the latter, although it is still a favorite variety, I do not 
consider equal in quality to the others. Among carrots, 
Early Scarlet Horn, French Forcing and Nantes are good. 
If growing only one variety, I should plant the latter as some 
of the roots will be ready to use almost as early as some of 
the other sorts, and those remaining as the rows are thinned 
out for use will continue to grow. If you want to try beans, 
grow a first quality early sort, such as Early Bountiful. 

After settling the question of varieties, there are, of 
course, the details of temperature, ventilation, fertilization 
and so forth, which have to be looked after with each of the 
several crops that have been mentioned. 

Lettuce All Winter 

As I have already said the loose-leaved lettuce is more 
certain to give satisfactory results under glass than the 
heading sorts. There is, however, no reason why you 
should not succeed with the latter if you like it enough bet- 
ter to pay for the extra care required. Greater care in water- 
ing will be necessary, especially after the heads begin to 
form. It is best to apply the water to the soil only, and to 
water on bright days, so that the surface of the soil and any 
parts of the foliage which have become wet may be dried 
off before night. During the larger part of the development 
of the plant a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees at night 
should be maintained, but just after setting the plants in 
the bed and while the heads are forming about 5 degrees 
less than that will be safer. Both Grand Rapids and Big 
Boston will do well with a temperature of 40 to 50 degrees 



OCTOBER: FOURTH WEEK 279 

throughout their growth. For quick results with lettuce 
now you should buy plants from some neighboring florist or 
market gardener, or they may be had by mail at very slight 
expense. The plants are transplanted once before being 
set where they are to mature, thus securing a saving of 
space during more than half their period of growth. A 
small flat of seeds or a couple of feet of drill along the edge 
of a bench planted now will give you enough plants to follow 
up the crop which you set out at this time. 

Cucumbers and Tomatoes Follow Lettuce 

December and January are the months in which cucum- 
bers and tomatoes are generally sown, so they can be used to 
follow the lettuce when the strengthening sunshine and the 
warmer nights makes it more feasible to maintain the 60 or 
70 degrees at night and the 80 to 90 degrees during the day 
required for the best development of the plants. If the 
greenhouse is so small that there is no separate warm section 
in which these things can be started and brought on until 
space is available in which they may be set out, a small 
frame on the order of a cold-frame may be used in the house 
so that the temperature in it may be carried a few degrees 
higher than in the rest of the house. 

The tomatoes are started in the usual way, but at the 
transplanting after the first (or at the first if the seed is 
sown very thinly so that extra strong, large seedlings may 
be attained) the young plants may be put into three or 
four-inch pots, and after they have filled these, which will 
be in the course of two or three weeks if the conditions are 
right, they may be shifted into a size larger if bench room 
is not yet available for setting them out. An abundance 
of well-rotted manure and a little fine bone meal should be 
mixed with the potting soil. If paper pots instead of clay 
are used, it will be a much easier task to keep them from 
drying out. As cucumbers are difficult to transplant unless 
one has had experience with them, it is best to start a few 
seeds, not more than four or five, in each of the required 



28o AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

number of paper pots, and after these are well up, thin them 
out to not more than two. They should be given plenty of 
light and kept as near the glass as possible so that they will 
not become drawn and weak. A rich compost with a layer 
of fine manure at the bottom, if used in the pots, will give 
the plants a strong start in the few weeks' time they have 
to get ready for their permanent position. 

When the plants are ready to be set, and a solid bed and 
manure that is still actively fermenting — such as you would 
use for a hot-bed — are available, a narrow trench with the 
manure packed in tight at the bottom under the plants will 
give them an extra start after transplanting. Where this 
method is not practicable, make a generous hole for each 
plant, enriching it well with either fine, short manure or a 
good handful of a mixture of cotton-seed meal, bone-dust 
and dried-blood or tankage. Keep the plants carefully 
shaded for a few days after setting them out. Under these 
congenial conditions, both tomatoes and cucumbers will 
make a very rapid growth. Training should be attended to 
carefully and constantly. All side shoots should be re- 
moved from the tomatoes as soon as they are big enough to 
pinch out and a large part of the foliage, where it interlaces 
or shades the young fruit, may be cut out with advantage. 

For radishes, beets, and carrots the soil should not be 
made too rich, especially in nitrogen, as this has a tendency 
to produce rank growth of top and an inferior quality of 
roots. I have found that a liberal dressing of unleached 
wood ashes gives especially good results with these, and a 
single pailful of ashes goes quite a way in the greenhouse. 
All of these things will do well with a temperature the same 
as that given lettuce. The radishes may be sown in rows 
very thinly from 4 to 6 inches apart and the beets and 
carrots from 10 to 12 inches. The beets are generally trans- 
planted the same way as lettuce except that they are set 
only 3 or 4 inches apart, but they may be grov/n directly 
from seed if there is space enough for them. You can grow a 
row of radishes between the rows of beets and carrots. 



OCTOBER: FOURTH WEEK 281 

Ventilation and Watering 

In growing vegetables under glass, there are a number of 
things to be attended to that one ordinarily pays no atten- 
tion to out-of-doors. One of the most important of these is 
fresh air. This is essential not only for keeping the plants 
in vigorous growth but it is practically a preventive for 
troubles with insects and disease. While direct draughts, 
especially in cold weather, should be avoided, ventilation 
should be given every day and for as long a time as possible 
without getting the temperature of the house too low. 

While plenty of moisture is essential, the beginner is more 
likely to do damage by giving too much of it. The soil 
should be thoroughly wet just before — or just after — setting 
out the plants. After that water should be given only as the 
condition of the soil seems to indicate that water is needed. 
Water as seldom as possible, but water thoroughly, and if 
possible only on bright days so that the foliage and the 
surface of the soil will be dried off by evening. While 
watering once in several days will be sufficient for a crop 
grown at a low temperature in midwinter, cucumbers and 
tomatoes which usually are making their greatest develop- 
ment in early spring when the sun is strong enough to run 
the house up to 80 or 90 degrees on bright days, often require 
a good watering every day. Frequent cultivation, whether 
any weeds appear or not, is just as essential indoors as 
out. 

Don^t Let the Bugs Get a Start 

What is perhaps the most important point of all I men- 
tion last for the sake of emphasis — that is — never let a bug 
appear, or if he does appear, never let him live 24 hours. 
But prevention is very much easier and quicker than any 
remedy. Use good strong tobacco dust freely on the soil 
and about the plant and if necessary on the foliage. If this is 
attended to, further trouble will seldom be experienced. 
The green plant lice or aphids and the white fly are the 
things most likely to cause trouble. If these do appear, 



282 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

spray the former with a nicotine extract (which may be 
had in a nimiber of readily available forms such as ''Aphine " 
and ''Black Leaf 40 " to be used after simply diluting with 
water) ; and for the latter use fumigation or nicotine extract 
for the matured flies and kerosene emulsion for the young 
or nymphs, which resemble, and must be treated exactly 
as if they were scales. Examine your plants carefully 
at least once every week, as these, like other insect pests, are 
inconspicuous when they first put in their appearance and 
keep out of sight until they have mobiUzed large armies of 
descendants. 



October: Fifth Week 

CONCRETE: WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT; AND 
HOW TO USE IT. IRON PIPE FOR MANY 
PURPOSES 

Exceptional indeed is the place the owner of which cannot 
think of some improvement, or some dozen improvements, 
that he would like to see made. Walks, culverts, troughs, 
hitching-posts, fence-posts, fountains, retaining walls, 
hot-beds, vegetable pits, steps, foundations and supports 
for buildings, floors, pergolas, summer-houses, hand-rails, to 
say nothing of more elaborate things, such as ice-houses, 
root-cellars, tanks, and so forth, are all within his reach 
when he has at his disposal concrete and iron pipe. Such 
jobs may be undertaken at any time of the year until 
freezing weather. 

The use of concrete is simplicity itself. The only in- 
gredients required are Portland cement, clean, medium- 
coarse sand, gravel, and water. In place of gravel, clean 
cinders or crushed stone may be used. Sometimes it is 
possible to get gravel that is mixed with sand in the proper 
proportion as it comes from the bank. Ordinarily, however, 
it should be screened, so that the sand and gravel may be 
measured separately. Having the ingredients accurately 
proportioned is one of the most important factors in achiev- 
ing successful results with concrete, and requires some 
attention. 

The mixture of the ingredients is based on the principle 
of having the particles of sand of sufficient number to fill 
the spaces in the gravel or crushed stone, and the particles 
of cement — which is ground to a microscopic fineness — fill 
the minute spaces between the grains of sand. After such a 
mixture has *'set" or hardened, the result is a monolithic 
compound so strong that if it is broken with a hammer the 

283 



284 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

fracture will be found to run through the stones. It is 
practically solid rock. 

The proportions of the ingredients are varied according 
to the nature of the work for which the concrete is to be 
used. There are three standard formulas, known respec- 
tively as ^'lean," "medium" and "rich" mixtures. The 
former is used for thick retaining walls, floors, sub-bases 
and anjrwhere where bulk and weight, rather than strength, 
are required. A medium mixture is used for ordinary pur- 
poses, such as walks, curbs, steps, walls, etc., and a rich 
mixture where great strength, fine finish or imperviousness 
to moisture are needed, such as for more elaborate forms of 
walls, garden furniture, supporting posts, thin walls, etc. 
"Reinforced" concrete is simply concrete with some mate- 
rial, usually metal in the shape of wires, rods or woven-wire 
netting, to give it extra strength for such uses as complicated 
forms, thin walls, floors, and an3rwhere where special stress 
and strain may be encountered. 

The proportions for these several mixtures are usually as 
follows, though, of course, they may be varied after one has 
a Httle experience, as the requirements of the job suggest: 

Lean mixture: One part cement; three parts sand; six 
parts gravel. 

Medium mixture: One cement; two and one-half sand; 
five gravel. 

Rich mixture: One cement; two sand; four gravel. 

Finishing mixture: Three shovelsful of clean, sharp sand 
to ten pounds of cement. 

The latter mixture is used for finishing off curbs and 
gutters, surfacing walks or walls, etc. It should always be 
applied before the first form has set hard. 

After the materials are got together, and you know 
exactly what you want to construct, the forms must be 
prepared. For most work they are m.ade of wood. The 
"form" is simply a casing to hold the wet cement in shape 
until it hardens. For any job that requires considerable 
concrete, the forms are generally made in sectional units, 
which can be used over and over. In making up the forms, 



OCTOBER: FIFTH WEEK 285 

two things are necessary: They must be rigid; any *'give," 
bulge or leak will leave a corresponding defacement on the 
finished job that cannot be rectified afterward. And the 
"face" of the form, which comes next to the wet concrete, 
must be smooth; any crack or roughness will leave a corre- 
sponding mark on the concrete, or the form may stick to 
the concrete so that it will have to be broken away, thereby 
spoiling the job. The forms are kept from spreading by 
bracing on the outside and by using bolts and washers at 
intervals to hold them together. In the latter case these 
should be well greased before the concrete is poured into 
the forms, and removed as soon as the concrete takes its 
initial set — when it has become firm, but not hard — so that 
it holds its own shape. For very smooth surfaces the forms 
should be carefully fitted and planed and oiled before each 
using. Bolts, braces, rings, studding for partitions, or 
anything of that nature, may be put in place and the con- 
crete made around them, or holes or slots of any desired 
size and shape may be made by putting in a piece of wood 
made smooth and well greased so that it may be withdrawn 
after the concrete is partly set. Holes can be filled with the 
' ' finishing mixture. ' ' 

Mixing and Tamping Concrete 

Having the forms ready and the materials on hand, the 
job of mixing, once it is begun, should be done as expedi- 
tiously as possible. A substantial, smooth, tight platform or 
a shallow box of suitable size should be provided. On or in 
this place the gravel, sand and cement, in the order named, 
measuring each carefully. With a shovel or hoe mix them, 
dry, quite thoroughly; then add the water a little at a time, 
while continuing the mixing, until you get a uniform, 
slushy mass just wet enough to pour. The water may be 
added in quite large doses at first, but as the "batch" ap- 
proaches the proper degree of slushiness it should be added 
sparingly. A mixture that is too wet will not make uniform 
material. 



286 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

As soon as the batch is mixed it should be placed at 
once in the forms, using for the purpose a shovel or cheap 
metal pails, if it has to be carried. It should be tamped 
down into the form firmly enough to prevent air spaces be- 
ing left. If a wall is being made, a thin paddle of wood 
or iron passed along either side next to the form will leave 
a smoother surface, as the larger particles of gravel or 
stone are pushed back. After the form is filled it should be 
left absolutely undisturbed until it has set hard — ^usually at 
least twenty-four hours, though forty-eight is preferable. 
The forms, if carefully handled, may then be removed, to 
use again, although the concrete will still be ''green" and 
easily marred or broken. If made where it will be subject 
to weight or stress when the forms are removed the con- 
crete should be left to harden thoroughly with the forms in 
place. If there is danger of frosty weather cover the con- 
crete with old bags, blankets, or, for outside work, with 
warm manure, to protect it from freezing. Be careful 
to mix only what can be used at once for each batch; any 
surplus must be thrown away, as it is useless after it begins 
to harden. Wash up clean at once all shovels, hoes, trowels, 
markers, pails, forms or mixing-bed, etc., which have been 
in contact with the wet concrete; otherwise you will find 
them ruined when you go to use them again. 

Concrete Pots and Vases 

By taking advantage of ready-made forms a great num- 
ber of difficult-looking things may be moulded with prac- 
tically no trouble. Large concrete pots or vases, for in- 
stance, are easily made by getting lard- tubs or candy pails 
of such size that one will fit inside the other, leaving a space 
of an inch or two as a form, and imbedding a cork or wooden 
plug in the concrete bottom (which is put in the large pail 
before the smaller one is set inside), to be removed for a 
drainage hole. An ordinary cracker-box, with the bottom 
removed, makes a good form for a small stepping stone. 
CyHndrical posts or supports of any size, or rounded cor- 



OCTOBER: FIFTH WEEK 287 

ners for walls, may readily be constructed by using pieces of 
sheet iron or tin, held in place by wire or nails or by short 
stakes, until the concrete sets. A machine may be pur- 
chased at a reasonable figure which makes hollow concrete 
blocks. They may be made a few at a time and kept in- 
definitely. With them almost any sort of building opera- 
tion may be undertaken. 

Iron Pipe for Many Purposes 

With anything but the very simplest kinds of work it is 
best to make a detailed line drawing, with exact dimensions 
of just what you plan to construct. Otherwise you will 
find yourself making numerous inaccuracies and mistakes. 
Very often, too, it is possible to make an excavation serve 
as one side of the form. In making a cold-frame or a root- 
pit against a bank, for instance, the back and at least part 
of the two ends may be formed by digging the bank down 
square and erecting the inner form several inches in front of 
this. For cold-frames it is possible to buy a cast iron "cap " 
that fits over the concrete wall and designed especially to 
make a good, snug fit for the sash. There are permanent 
wash colors also made especially for use with concrete, with 
which one may get any desired "tone" to harmonize with 
buildings or surroundings. 

Along with concrete, one should learn the possibiHties 
of iron pipe. Common water or gas pipe is used, and for 
most purposes secondhand pipe will answer as well as new. 
Embedded in concrete, it is practically everlasting. It 
is ideal to use for inexpensive arches, trellises, supporting 
columns, etc. Formerly it was necessary to have a set of 
pipe-tools to fit and thread the pieces into their various 
positions. Now, however, one may get "split fittings" to 
hold the pieces of pipe together wherever nothing is to be 
used inside of them. They are put on with an ordinary 
monkey wrench ; a short bolt which passes between the ends 
of the pipe, or double bolts, straddhng it, being used to hold 
the fittings in place, so that the only tool necessary is a pipe- 
cutter or a hack-saw to cut the pipe into required lengths. 



November : First Week 

MAKING HOUSE PLANTS AT HOME FOR THE 
WINTER: THE CONDITIONS THAT FAVOR 
HEALTHY GROWTH; THE PROBLEM OF HEAT- 
ING. MATERIALS FOR NEXT SPRING 

There are several sources from which plants for winter 
bloom and decorative purposes may be obtained. Some 
may have been saved from the summer garden, others may 
be regular '* house plants," kept in pots the year round; 
still others may have been bought at the florist's in the fall, 
either especially for the winter window garden, or, being 
new and expensive varieties, to serve as ''stock" plants to 
be used for purpose of propagation. But whatever their 
sources, or the reason for keeping them over winter, they 
will alike demand congenial conditions if they are to prove 
a pleasure and a success instead of a nuisance and a failure. 
And while there are dozens of plants which may be grown 
with at least a fair degree of success in the ordinary dwelling 
house, they all demand, with comparatively minor dififer- 
ences in the matters of light and temperature, the same 
general conditions. 

In establishing a congenial environment for plants in- 
doors there are of course four chief factors to be considered — 
light, temperature, moisture, and soil. 

Give Abundant Light 

An unstinted supply of light is required by most of the 
plants suited for house culture; during the winter months 
very few of them can be given too much even of direct 
sunlight. Many plants will for a time tolerate a rather dim 
light, especially if they are in a semi-dormant condition, 

288 



NOVEMBER: FIRST WEEK 289 

as some plants are at this period; but for plants which it is 
desired to keep growing, as a general rule, the more light the 
better. Without sufficient light, they will fail to make 
strong, normal tissue, although growth will continue; the 
stems are drawn out and weak, and the foliage is pale and 
soft; one of the most serious results is that the whole plant 
will readily fall prey to the first attack of insects or disease, 
which in turn are usually encouraged by just the condi- 
tions which are unfavorable for the plant. In selecting 
quarters for your winter garden, then, procure all the light 
possible. And for flowering plants, such as geraniums, 
heliotropes, and begonias, direct sunshine, for at least part 
of the day, is quite essential. 

What is the Right Temperature? 

There are few dwelling houses in these days where the 
temperature cannot be kept sufficiently high in at least the 
one or two rooms selected for the window garden to answer 
the requirements of all the commoner house plants. Great 
extremes of temperature during the day and night are more 
likely to be a cause of trouble than too low a temperature. 
During the day, and evening when the rooms are occupied, 
and while the sun is shining, the temperature may run up 
to 70 or 80 degrees, and then drop during the night to 40 
or below : such a range of temperature is trying on the con- 
stitution of any plant, especially when it is accompanied, 
as is most apt to be the case, by a desiccated atmosphere. 
A temperature of 60 to 70 degrees during the day, and 50 
to 55 during the night, will be sufficient for most house 
plants, though a few degrees more will not be harmful, 
and a few degrees less will not prove fatal, but simply retard 
or check growth. But a temperature as even as may be 
given is highly desirable. The fewer variations above or 
below these figures the better. In extreme weather it may 
not be possible to keep the temperature from going down to 
forty, or even below ; this need not prove serious unless it is 
repeated so frequently that the plants are checked, or seem 



290 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

to stand still. A sudden chill may cause a heliotrope, 
fuchsia, or lemon verbena to drop its leaves, without in the 
least permanently injuring it. Plants that are quite dry 
will stand colder temperature than if moist; and the same 
is true if they are partly dormant rather than in active 
growth. 

The plant room need not necessarily be proof against the 
very coldest winter weather, In case of emergency several 
thicknesses of newspaper placed just inside the glass, so as to 
form a dead air space, will keep out extra severe cold; 
and if this is not enough the plants can be huddled about 
the stove or radiator for a night or two. 

Moisture the Most Difficult Problem 

The matter of moisture, which at first glance probably 
seems the factor easiest to control, is the most difficult. 
When *' moisture" is spoken of in this connection, most 
persons assume that it is merely the watering of the plants 
which is meant. That in itself is not as simple a problem 
as may at first appear; but it is not nearly so difficult 
as the greater one of the moisture in the air, which directly 
affects the health and condition of the plants. A dried- 
out atmosphere is the most difficult disadvantage to over- 
come in growing plants in the house. Houses heated by 
steam and hot air are the most likely to be objectionable 
in this respect. If plants are to be grown successfully under 
such conditions, provision to counteract this dry atmosphere 
must be made. Extra care in the matter of watering will 
help to some extent, but that alone is not sufficient. Water 
kept where it may evaporate freely, and thus to some 
extent re-saturate the dried-out air is very effective; keep 
bowls or pans of water on the radiators or registers — the 
number of times you find it necessary to replenish them will 
give you some idea of the amount of moisture that is burned 
out of the atmosphere by such a heating system. Another 
corrective is frequent ventilation ; the new air is valuable not 
only for the fresh supply of oxygen, but has a normal 



NOVEMBER: FIRST WEEK 291 

moisture content. As a general rule, give all the fresh air 
you can, while keeping the temperature sufficiently high. 
The arrangements for ventilation should be such, however, 
that no direct draft strikes the plants. 

In regard to the soil, plants which have been freshly 
potted in the fall or summer, should in most cases have 
sufficient nutriment to carry them through the winter. 
But growing plants, which may require repotting before 
spring, and those which are wanted for continuous blooming, 
will require additional plant food either in the form of soil, 
or in concentrated fertilizer of one sort or another. More- 
over, proper watering of the plants in pots, — as the great 
majority of house plants are kept — requires that when they 
are watered the soil be thoroughly saturated, and then 
allowed to drain off freely. All these things mean more or 
less mussing about, and can be done better where provision 
for just this work has been made. 

M^ake a Place Especially for Your Plants 

Here, then, are the conditions which the indoor gardener 
has to establish if he would make reasonably certain of 
success. Needless to say, there are few houses where all 
of them may be had at their best without some special pro- 
vision being made to overcome the lack of some one desir- 
able thing or another. In the great majority of cases it 
will pay and pay well to give a little thought and time to 
providing a place for your plants where they may be cared 
for w^ith the greatest ease and under the most favorable 
conditions. In selecting or constructing such a place, re- 
member your objects are (i), to supply an abundance of 
light; (2) to control the temperature; (3) to maintain a 
normally moist atmosphere; and (4), to provide a place 
where you can do the work which may be required in prop- 
erly tending the plants, watering, etc. 

Where a bay-window, or a part of a tightly enclosed 
porch that may be heated, is available, all of these con- 
ditions may be suppKed with Httle trouble. One of the first 



292 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

things to do is to arrange things so that the space to be 
used for flowers, — great or small as the case may be — may 
be cut of from the rest of the living-room or porch. This 
partition does not have to be either air-tight or permanent, 
but the tighter the better. One simple plan is to arrange 
fairly heavy curtains, reaching from ceihng to floor, which 
may be drawn at will to shut the plants in by themselves. 
Light doors, made largely of glass, have the advantage 
over curtains that the plants can still be seen and enjoyed 
while the doors are shut. 



Two Simply Made Window Gardens 

Where no such ready-made advantage as the above is at 
hand, and nothing as ambitious as a small conservatory 
can be attempted, the garden may be placed wholly or 
partly outside of the window or windows by constructing 
a miniature glass '' lean-to" on the outside, supported by 
suitably strong brackets attached to the house. I have 
seen several very ingenious forms of the little winter gardens, 
which afford all the conditions required quite perfectly 
where there are but a limited number of plants to be grown. 
Two of the simplest were constructed as follows. 

The first was formed of a standard cold-frame sash and 
two narrow storm windows. The latter were secured to the 
sides of the window, on the outside, so that they stood out at 
right angles, and the sash was screwed firmly to these, thus 
making a glass box outside of the window. Top and bottom 
were then added, the latter being given slant enough to 
carry off water and melting snow. (Ordinary plowed and 
matched ceiling boards, covered with a high grade of roofing 
paper, answer this purpose, the roofing paper being brought 
in under one layer of clapboards or shingles, to get a tight 
joint.) A pane of glass removed from one of the storm- 
window sides, and replaced by a light wooden frame of 
the same size, on hinges, furnished sufficient ventilation. 
Ordinarily the Hving room suppHed enough heat, but a 
kerosene lamp, placed in a metal box for safety, gave ex- 



NOVEMBER: FIRST WEEK 293 

tra heat at night when needed. Removable shelves were 
fitted at intervals onto cleats supported by the sides, so 
that a goodly number of plants were accommodated. 

The second was made on much the same principle, but was 
formed of two cold-frame sashes, one of which was carefully 
sawed and cut (with a glazier's diamond, the glass being 
cut first) from inside of one corner to a corresponding point, 
diagonally from corner to corner. This gave the two sides; 
the other sash forming a slanting roof from the top of the 
window to the outer edge of the bottom, placed just below 
the window, and supported by stout braces. Heat in this 
case was suppHed by a small gas stove in the cellar below 
the window, covered by a metal hood from which a hot-air 
flue led through the wall, and then up through a wooden 
box to the bottom of the "conservatory." A very small 
pipe, running from the regular steam or hot-water system, 
will do equally well. Or a small lamp, properly protected, 
may be made perfectly safe, a.nd will heat a small space 
of this sort at an unbelieveably little cost. When a lamp 
is employed, however, very strict attention must be paid 
to ventilation. 

A Convenient Plant Shelf 

If the plants are wanted in the living-room itself, then 
make a substantial shelf for the window in which they are to 
be kept. This can readily be attached in such a way that it 
can be taken down in summer. The shelf should be formed, 
preferably, of a single piece of well-dried cypress or pine, 
that will not warp, with lath or furring strip planed smooth, 
or moulding neatly and tightly nailed about the outer edge, 
and projecting an inch or so above the upper surface. By 
painting the edge thickly with white lead just before naihng 
this on, a tight joint will be secured. The shelf or stand 
itself should be painted with "outside" white. If this 
shelf is covered with a layer of moss, and on top of this clean 
white pebbles, it will not only look much more attractive 
than a plain board support, but the pots, while having 



294 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

perfect facilities for draining, will not dry out so quickly, 
and the surplus moisture absorbed by the moss — instead 
of running down to water the roses in the carpet on the floor ! 
— will evaporate and help to keep the air about the plants 
normally moist. Even with an inside shelf of this kind, it is 
not a difl&cult task to shut off a separate space for the 
flowers by arranging curtains which may be pulled about 
them, giving much better control of the conditions of mois- 
ture and temperature, and making it possible to fumigate 
the plants with tobacco smoke, if necessary. 

Provide Now for Next Springes Needs 

In addition to these details of construction, do not for- 
get to provide yourself with all the materials which may be 
needed before open weather in the spring in the way of 
soil, sand, fertilizers, leaf-mould or chip-dirt, sphagnum 
moss, etc. — anything that is Hkely to be required for re- 
potting, starting cuttings, starting plants from seed, and 
potting up new plants. All these things may be kept in 
boxes in the cellar, out of the way, but readily available 
when needed. Keep them as far from artificial heat as 
possible, however, to avoid their drying off excessively. 



November : Second Week 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN STORAGE; ODDS 
AND ENDS OF OUTSIDE WORK; ROOTS FOR 
FORCING; ''BUDS" FOR GRAFTING; MAKING 
BEDS AND BORDERS FOR SPRING PLANTING 

Before the advent of real cold weather make certain that 
you have collected and put into their final winter quarters 
all vegetables and fruits which may have been stored tem- 
porarily in the hurry of harvesting. A careful ''going over" 
at this time of such things as apples, pears, squash, onions, 
and cabbage, and — if you have had any to keep — melons, 
tomatoes, and cauliflowers, will be of double value: not only 
will you be sure that they have been stored as carefully as 
possible, but you will have a chance to weed out, and set 
aside for early use, any which may not be perfect specimens. 
Any lot of fruits or vegetables, no matter how carefully 
they were selected at the time of harvesting a few weeks 
ago, nor how perfect they appeared, will have some spec- 
imens which by this time may be readily picked out as those 
which will be the first to cause trouble, even if they have not 
already begun to do so. Any effort spent now in culHng 
out such "seconds" will be well worth while. One apple 
slightly bruised in harvesting, and decaying, will quickly 
contaminate a box, or even a whole barrel-full, if it is not 
discovered in time. The same is true of the other things 
mentioned. Make sure that everything you put away is in 
good sound condition before it is finally ''O. K'ed," and 
given its place on shelf or in bin. 

Another thing which is frequently neglected in connection 
with winter storage is the matter of ventilation. Fresh air 
is good for the things you have stored, especially if they 

295 



296 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

are kept where moisture collects, even to a small extent, as 
it does in most cellars and dark store-rooms. Open up 
windows or doors every week or two on a bright dry day, or 
for a night, if it is not too cold; and don't forget to keep this 
up, at intervals, during the winter. Most vegetables, and 
fruits, will keep best in a cold temperature — about 35 de- 
grees — where the air is not too dry. Squash and sweet 
potatoes, however, keep better in a rather warm tempera- 
ture, — 45 degrees or over — and a very dry atmosphere: a 
place near the chimney in the attic, or in the cellar near 
the heater, furnishing the right conditions. 

Clean up the Outside Jobs 

Take advantage of every warm bright day to clean up any 
outside jobs there may be left to do: any day now may 
bring weather conditions which will mean the cessation of 
work of this kind. 

Don't leave until spring any garden debris or rubbish 
that can be cleaned up or burned up now. The vegetable 
garden that is left full of dead vines and pea-brush and to- 
mato and bean poles, is not only the most desolate of sights 
and the most aggressive signboard of slip-shod methods, 
but a pleasant and safe winter resort and encampment for 
all sorts of insects and disease spores. 

In making the final rounds of inspection, look carefully 
over your fruit trees, and small fruits. Go over the cane 
fruits — ^blackberries, raspberries, etc. — and cut out all old 
canes that fruited this year, if they have been left till now. 
Cut out and burn any new ones which show signs of borers. 
Carefully examine currants and gooseberries for borers 
also: — a light-colored slightly wilted shoot will enable you 
to recognize where one is present. The bushes may be 
thinned or cut to shape now if desired, but as a general rule 
it will be better to leave pruning until late winter or early 
spring. Grapes however may be pruned now to advantage, 
as soon as other outside work has been attended to. 



NOVEMBER: SECOND WEEK 297 

Late summer and fall flowering shrubs and ornamentals 
may be pruned now if there is likely to be lack of time for 
doing this work in the early spring; the advantage in waiting 
until the latter time is that winter injuries and killing back 
may be attended to at the same time. 

A Stitch in Time for Spring Repairing 

TrelKses or other supports for grapes and trained fruits 
should be looked to now before the ground freezes, and any 
needed repairs made. If this is put off until later there is 
more danger of damage from winds and snows. If any new 
wire is to be used, get the kind known as "spring coil," as 
this will remain tight at all times, while ordinary wire soon 
sags. If you will examine an old trelHs you will see that 
decay alrnost always starts around the nails. Paint all 
nails and joints with white lead, and keep the whole trellis 
painted every other season or so, with some neutral color. 

Espalier or lattice trained fruits are often planted in warm, 
sunny, sheltered positions : if against a wall the support for 
them should be a foot or more in front of the surface of the 
wall, so that there may be room for the air to circulate freely 
back of them. In such a situation injury is often caused 
either during winter, from bright sunshine, or growth is 
started prematurely in the spring, and damage done by late 
frosts. Protection against these possibilities may be had 
by thoroughly mulching the soil about the roots after the 
ground freezes, and by shading the tops with a screen of ever- 
green boughs: such a screen is not unsightly, and may be 
constructed quickly and easily by lacing the boughs through 
a few strands of stout wire placed a few feet in front of the 
plants to be protected. 

Small fruits, growing in an exposed position, where ex- 
perience has shown there is some danger of winter-killing, 
may be protected by evergreen boughs so placed as to shelter 
them from prevaiHng winter winds. In very cold climates, 
the cane fruits are given winter protection by laying them 
down — first loosening the roots with a fork, if necessary — 



298 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

and holding them in position by shoveling some soil onto 
the tips: this must be removed as soon as possible in spring. 

Get together now all the material you will need for winter 
mulching during the next few weeks. For the hardy bor- 
ders, bulb beds, box-wood edgings, rose beds, less hardy 
shrubs and vines, etc., well-rotted, dry, strawey manure is 
one of the best things to use. Gather up fallen leaves and 
keep them in a dry place, as they will be useful for many 
purposes, and any surplus will be valuable for composting 
with manure for hot-bed material, and supplying humus for 
garden, frames, or potting soil. For the rose garden, where 
the bushes have to be protected above ground, dry leaves are 
excellent. Procure a generous supply of evergreen boughs; 
they are useful for many purposes in putting the garden to 
sleep for the winter. For strawberry beds, covering for 
frames, etc., bog-meadow or salt marsh hay is the most de- 
sirable material — it is free from weed-seeds, inconspicuous, 
and stays put. If that cannot be procured, get rye or oat 
straw. Get as much as you are Hkely to need of all these 
things in advance, and have them where they will be ready 
to use, under cover and dry, when things freeze up for 
keeps: — remember that the purpose of mulching is to keep 
things frozen, not to protect from frost. 

Roots for Forcing 

Before the ground freezes hard, take up a supply of 
rhubarb, asparagus and sea-kale roots for forcing under the 
greenhouse benches or in a hot-bed, during the early winter 
and spring months. Use a sharp spade — or cut down about 
them before lifting with the lawn edger or a hay-knife — 
and remove them with a generous lump of soil, kept as 
intact as possible. The safest way is merely to cut about 
and under them, making sure that they are loose, and then 
leave them where they are until they freeze solid, after 
which they may be moved to some cold shed where they 
will remain frozen, but be get-at-able when wanted. 



NOVEMBER: SECOND WEEK 299 

Increase Your Orchard by Grafting 

Have you as many varieties of fruit growing on your 
orchard trees as you would like? and are all that are growing 
perfectly satisfactory? If not, it is an easy matter to add 
new varieties or substitute them for unsatisfactory ones, 
without increasing the number of trees. The actual opera- 
tion of grafting — or of budding, which is similar — is not 
performed until early spring (next March or April) , but it is 
well to decide now what you would like to do in this line, 
and provide yourself during the next month or so with 
"whips" of the various varieties you may wish to add to 
your collection. Right now, while the apple season is in its 
height, is the time to ''sample" the different kinds, and 
make your selections — three bites of a good specimen will 
tell you more about the eating quality of that particular 
kind, as far as your taste is concerned, than pages of 
catalogue or book descriptions and ''acid," "sub-acid," 
"mild," and "tart" adjectives. Whenever you sink your 
teeth into an apple that particularly appeals to you, find out 
what it is, and then put the name down in black and white. 
Then find out, either from local growers or from your State 
experiment station or county agent, which of the several 
sorts you may have on your list will do well in your vicinity. 
The "whips" or small branches of "buds" may then be 
procured locally or ordered from a reliable nurserymen. 
In the former case, bury them, carefully tagged, in the 
cellar, or keep them in a cold, fairly moist place, such as an 
ice-house, so they will remain dormant until you are ready 
to use them. If ordering from a nurseryman, it will be more 
convenient to have them reserved until you want them. 

Make a Rose Garden Now 

There is still time in November, before the ground freezes 
hard, to prepare a rose garden for next spring's planting, 
and if you intend to set out any roses next spring by all 
means prepare the bed now. Of the thousands of roses set 



300 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



out every spring, only hundreds go into beds that have been 
given thorough preparation. In spring there is never time 
to do the job so well as it should be done, and you will have 
lost the advantage of winter's action on the soil and the 
pre-digestion of the manure and bone, which make an ideal 
condition for spring planting. 

Stake out a bed of the desired size, allowing eighteen 
inches each way for teas and hybrid teas, and twenty-four 



W top" SOIL ^%^^ ^^ 




inches for hybrid perpetuals. Select a position that is 
naturally well drained, sheltered if possible from north and 
northwest winds, but exposed in other directions, so there 
will be free circulation of air about the plants — an impor- 
tant point. Dig out the bed to a depth of two to three feet, 
the latter depth being necessary if artificial drainage must 
be added. Place the sod and the good soil in separate piles 
along one edge of the trench, and the poor soil and subsoil 
along the other edge. Break up the subsoil at the bottom 
of the trench with a pick. 

First put in the drainage, if required — eight inches of 
coarse gravel, broken stone, old plaster, clean cinders, or 
any similar material. Over this put a layer of sods, grass 
side down, or long manure. Fill in to within six or eight 
inches of the surface level with good soil — the heavier the 
better — ^well enriched with rotted manure and coarse or 
inch bone. The last six or eight inches should be of soil that 



NOVEMBER: SECOND WEEK 301 

has not been enriched, so the roots will be tempted to feed 
well below the surface. Make the bed a couple of inches 
above the surface, to allow for settling. 

With such preparations made now you will have next 
spring, not only a bed that will produce superb blooms, but 
one that can be planted out in a few minutes after your 
plants arrive from the nursery. The same preparation may 
be made, to just as great an advantage, for a new flower 
border. In this case it will not be as essential — though of 
course desirable — to make the bed quite as deep, or be so 
particular about the drainage, as for roses. 



November: Third Week 

PUTTING THE GARDEN TO SLEEP FOR THE 
WINTER: PROTECTION OF ROSES; SHRUBS; 
BULBS; PERENNIALS; SMALL FRUITS. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR STOCK PLANTS; 
MATERIALS FOR SPRING WORK INDOORS 

One of the last things to be done outside, and one of the 
most important things for the success of the garden, is to 
put to bed for the winter plants that require protecton — 
to apply mulching where it is needed, in the right way, at 
the right time. 

Mulching is used to protect plants from thawing rather 
than from freezing. Consequently care should be taken 
that it is not applied too soon. Nothing that is hardy 
enough to survive in the open ground will be injured by 
the first few cold snaps of autumn — in fact, Nature provides 
for this as a process of ripening that the plant should go 
through in order to do its best the following season. As a 
general rule the mulch should not be put on until the ground 
is frozen hard and severe weather appears to have set in. 

Winter injury to plants is usually due to one of three 
conditions: Alternate freezing and thawing; heaving of the 
soil, causing exposure of the roots; and too severe freezing 
of tops or roots. The latter condition is seldom the cause 
of damage. 

It will often be as late as the middle of December before 
the mulch is required, but the materials should be obtained 
at once. There are several good materials for mulching, 
any of which may be obtained with Httle trouble in most 
localities. Stable litter, or thoroughly dry stable manure, 
will serve both as a mulch and a valuable source of plant 
food. Marsh or meadow hay, or grain straw, may be 
utilized; the former stays put better and is not so conspicu- 

302 



NOVEMBER: THIRD WEEK 303 

ous. For the small place in the city or suburbs leaves may 
be used. Evergreen boughs are also well worth having, 
either to hold leaves or other mulching in place, or by them- 
selves to provide protection, especially where the climate is 
not very severe. These boughs are also good for tying up 
plants that need protection above ground, being much 
more attractive in appearance than unsightly straw jackets. 

The Neatest Mulch for Beds and Borders 

For covering beds or borders about the house, or wherever 
a particularly neat, trim appearance is desirable, run a 
strip of twelve-inch chicken wire round the edges of the bed, 
holding it in position with small stakes every five or ten feet. 
Fill this with leaves to the desired depth, placing a few 
boards or boughs on top if the winds are high to hold the 
mulching in position until it becomes settled. The wire 
should be put in place before the ground freezes; the mulch 
may be put on at any time afterward. 

Both ground and mulching material should be dry when 
the mulch is put on. Though the ground will dry off very 
quickly on a bright day, the mulching material, if once wet 
through, may freeze, and in any case will require several 
days to dry out. Therefore it is best to keep it under cover 
if possible until wanted. 

Winter mulching is required in many places — in the 
flower, fruit and vegetable gardens, on newly planted 
borders, on the bulb beds, and round newly set shrubs or 
trees. After hard frosts have killed the foliage of the late- 
flowering hardy perennials, such as chrysanthemums, asters 
and anemones the borders should be gone over with a scythe 
or sickle, and the tops cut down to within three or four 
inches of the roots. Burn this dead material, as one can 
never be certain that disease spores or insect eggs or cocoons 
will not be harbored to make trouble next year. Manure 
makes a good mulch for the hardy border, as a large part 
of it may be worked into the soil about the plants in the 
spring. 



304 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Protection for the Roses 

Some of the hybrid-perpetual and hybrid-tea roses are 
hardy enough to go through the ordinary winter without 
protection, but it is best to mulch the whole rose bed. In a 
severe climate, or where tender sorts are grown, the earth 
should be drawn up round the canes in little hills before the 
ground freezes. This not only gives extra protection, but 
also insures better drainage. Before putting on the mulch 
it is usually advisable to cut back the longer shoots by a 
third or so. This applies especially to the taller, stronger- 
growing rose bushes, as it not only makes them less in 
the way, but lessens the danger of their being whipped and 
beaten about by the winds. The regular pruning, of course, 
is not given until spring. Tea and hybrid- tea roses, that 
need more protection than the usual mulching affords, 
may be put into winter quarters by running a strip of wire 
round the bed, as already described, and filHng this with 
leaves to the depth of a foot or more. This method, with 
evergreen boughs laid over the top, will carry through most 
teas, even where the winters are severe. 

The shrubbery border should be mulched, especially 
during the first winter or two after planting. For this 
work it is better to use rough manure or leaves in preference 
to straw, so the material can be worked into the surface 
soil in the spring, making a drought-resisting summer cover- 
ing. As the mulch for shrubs is to keep the soil from heav- 
ing, rather than to protect the plants, the soil about each 
shrub should be well covered; but the mulch should not be 
crowded up round the stem or trunk of the plant, where it 
may furnish protection to field mice or other rodents to 
the injury or even loss of the shrub. This is an additional 
reason why the mulch should not be applied before the 
ground freezes, as by that time these marauders have made 
their winter quarters elsewhere. 

Some of the native hardy lilies are safe without protection, 
but most of the others, such as the hardy Japanese sorts, 



NOVEMBER: THIRD WEEK 305 

the candidum or Madonna, the longifiorum, and the spe- 
ciosum, are better for protection, especially when they are 
growing in dirt beds. Any bulb or plant naturaHzed among 
shrubs or in grass is mulched to some extent by Nature. 
Beds and borders of spring-blooming bulbs — tulips, nar- 
cissuses and hyacinths — should also be thoroughly mulched. 

Winter Mulch for Strawberries and Fruits 

In the fruit garden and in the vegetable garden mulching 
is also required. For strawberries nothing is better than 
clean marsh hay, which is free from weeds, stays in position 
well and makes a clean, dry ground covering for the fruit- 
ing season. Straw is more likely to blow about over the 
rest of the garden in spring, and to become an endless 
nuisance by catching in the wheel-hoe teeth through sum- 
mer. In cold parts of the country the whole surface — the 
ground between the rows as well as the plants — should be 
covered to a depth of several inches. In more southerly 
sections, especially when the rows are far apart, mulching 
over the plants alone will be sufficient. 

The small fruits — the cane fruits, currants and goose- 
berries — are benefited by winter mulching, which, in their 
case, is of double value, as it may be utilized again for a 
summer mulch after the plants have been cultivated or 
hoed out in spring. All plants of this class suffer from dry 
weather at fruiting time, and as it often happens that one 
is too busy to provide a mulch just when it is needed, it pays 
to put it on now and have it ready, in addition to getting 
the benefit during the winter. Late plantings of onions or 
spinach, to be carried over winter for spring use, should also 
be mulched; hay or straw is better in this case than leaves 
or manure, as it may be removed more readily in the spring. 

All newly planted shrubs or trees, or newly made beds, 
should be mulched. Be sure that the surface of the bed, or 
the soil about the trees, has enough slope to drain itself 
readily before the mulch is put on. Otherwise water may 



3o6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

collect, resulting in a frozen mass of ice and mulch that in- 
jures the plant, or keeps the ground about it frozen in spring 
until long after the rest of the garden has thawed out. 

Winter Protection for Tall Plants 

A number of plants require protection different from, or 
in addition to, that afforded by mulching. Some of the 
tenderer roses and shrubs, which might be injured by severe 
weather, are jacketed with straw. For this purpose ever- 
green boughs, or clean, long rye straw and tarred string 
should be used. A good way of putting on a jacket of this 
sort is to have a number of adjustable corn ties to use while 
getting it on and making it firm and snug, then to wind 
securely with tarred twine, when the corn ties may be re- 
moved for the next plant. Still other plants, such as hardy 
azaleas, or fruits trained against the south side of a wall, may 
need protection from the sun and to prevent premature 
swelHng in the spring. A mulch on the ground will, of 
course, tend to hold the roots back, but a sun shield is 
sometimes also required. Such a shield may be constructed 
by putting up stout posts, of any height required, stretching 
across these a few stout wires, and interlacing evergreen 
branches. A similar fence may be made to serve as a wind 
shield. 

The more tender roses and standard or tree roses, which 
are more susceptible to winter injury than the same varieties 
grown in bush form, may be given efficient protection in 
severe climates by being taken up, roots and all, and win- 
tered over in a trench or a deep frame, covered with hay 
or straw, with a foot or so of soil on top. If the ground is 
very dry give the soil round each plant a thorough soaking 
with the hose the day before taking up. Cut down about 
each plant with a sharp edger or spade that will cut the 
roots off clean and leave a good ball of earth. Climbing 
roses may be laid down, the tips being held in place with 
earth or a notched stick, and covered with mulch or dirt. 
In this way many of the beautiful semi-hardy climbers may 



NOVEMBER: THIRD WEEK 307 

be kept quite far north, and the hardy climbers up into 
Canada. 

The tender hydrangeas and the old-fashioned century 
plants should be carried over winter in a cool greenhouse, 
or a partially lighted cellar or cold room, where the temper- 
ature will average between thirty and forty degrees. Give 
only enough water to keep the soil from getting completely 
dried out. 

Select Chrysanthemums Now for Stock Plants 

If you grow or would like to grow chrysanthemums, 
now is the time to select stock for next fall's blooms. If 
you have some of your own carefully tag a plant or two of 
the best sorts before the blooms are cut. Try to take in 
one of the flower shows, and note some of the newer sorts 
that appeal to you. At any rate make up your mind to try 
a few next year. You may grow the big single blossoms, the 
medium-sized flowers, or the small blooms in sprays, as 
you fancy. 

If you haven't a greenhouse the chrysanthemums may 
be grown in pots during the summer and brought in at the 
approach of cold weather, flowering indoors at the very 
season when other plants, after their shift from the outside 
garden, are recuperating and barren of bloom. In sections 
where the falls are late and mild the chrysanthemums may 
be brought to bloom under a protection of plant cloth. 

It is an easy matter to get plants for stock, as there is 
always a surplus as the cutting season draws to a close. 
Pack the old roots into a box or flat, which may be kept 
in any cool light place, with an occasional watering to keep 
the soil from drying out, until January or February, when 
more water and a higher temperature should be given to 
start them into active growth. 

Materials for Spring Work Indoors 

This is the last chance to make preparations for starting 
seedlings and cuttings in the spring. Secure at once a 



3o8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

couple of flour barrels from your grocer. If you have no 
good compost on hand make a mixture of garden soil, 
adding sand if it is heavy and leaf mold or sod scrapings. 
Enough of this material — usually about a third, in bulk — 
should be added to the garden soil, or soil and sand, to make 
the resulting mixture very light and porous, and friable 
enough so that it will not lump when squeezed in the hand. 
A barrel or two of this soil put away in the cellar, or in some 
other place safe from freezing, will make the starting of seeds 
and plants in the spring, when the ground outside is still 
frozen hard, an easy matter. A surplus of the leaf mold or 
sod shavings should be kept to mix with the soil for the seed 
boxes, as this should be made more light and porous than 
that used for transplanting and potting. An hour at this 
job now will save you trouble next March. 



November : Fourth Week 

WORK FOR THE HOME TREE DOCTOR: HOW TO 
REPAIR OLD WOUNDS AND SPLITS; FALL 
TRENCHING AND DRAINING 

The beginning of winter sees no cessation of work on the 
part of the industrious gardener. The ground may be frozen 
or covered with snow, but there will still be warm after- 
noons when there is keen zest in a few hours' brisk work in 
the open air. It is nevertheless unwise to put off these 
winter jobs, for the good days are numbered. 

One of the first things is to put the trees, both fruit and 
ornamental, in order. Be your own tree doctor. For or- 
dinary tree ills there is no necessity for a specialist. You 
will require only a sharp cutting-off saw, preferably newly 
*' set" ; a good strong knife; a mallet and two chisels, one half 
an inch and the other one and a quarter inches; some heavy 
paint, preferably creosote; Portland cement and a small 
mason's trowel; a tree scraper, which may be improvised by 
naiHng a flat three-cornered piece of metal to a short handle; 
and possibly a bitstock or an auger. 

Decaying cavities in trunk or limbs are the most common 
injuries of serious nature. These are the results of former 
abrasions of the bark and the cambium layer, or living skin, 
of the tree; or of improper pruning. If neglected such decay 
will extend rapidly into trunk or limb until, in the course of a 
few years, the living wood will be destroyed out to the bark in 
every direction, — and when an unusual strain of wind or 
ice comes it will all be over but the crash ! This decay is the 
result of disease spores or germs that have found lodgment 
and congenial conditions for development in some neg- 
lected wound, often a very sHght one. It could have been 
prevented by proper precautions at the time of the infliction 
of the wound, or when the tree was pruned. 

309 



3IO AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Repairing an Old Wound 

The fixing of an old wound of this sort is sometimes a 
lengthy job, but unless the limb or tree is ready to collapse 
it can generally be successfully accompKshed. Fortunately 
the real heart, or the circulation system, is near the outside, 
so the tree can flourish vigorously with an inner heart of 
stone. 

One of the most common t5^es of injury is illustrated in 
an accompanying photograph. Had this limb been sawed off 
close to the trunk and painted over, the bark itself would 
probably have closed in over it. The first thing to do in all 
rotting cavities of this kind is to cut back in every direction 
to clean, five wood and bark. In order to do this it may be 
necessary to cut away a good deal of five wood and bark 
round the mouth of the cavity; or, if the heart of the tree 
has rotted out too far down to be reached from the opening, 
it may be necessary to make another opening near the 
ground. But get out all the dead and partially decayed 
wood. If it is impossible to clean it all out by any other 
means a gasoline torch may be held against the inaccessible 
parts for a few minutes. 

Then give the whole a thorough coating of creosote. 
Other paints with disinfectant action may be used, but 
creosote, being both sticky and penetrating, is especially 
good for this work. To have a perfect job the cavity should 
be filled to the last crevice and sealed air-tight. As the 
wood sometimes parts slightly from the filling at the mouth 
of the cavity a layer of elastic cement may be used to join 
wood and cement at the opening, but usually a heavy coat 
of paint will afford all the protection required. 

The filling for the cavity should be a fairly rich mixture 
of sand and cement. For very large holes a regular 1-2-4 
mixture will do for the bulk of the work, being finished off 
with cement and sand, one part of the former to two or 
three of the latter. If long vertical openings are to be filled 
a form may be made of stiff roofing paper, greased or soaped 
on the inside and made to conform to the shape and size 




H u > 
<; <u ^ 



NOVEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 



311 



of the tree. The filling should be built out just level with 
the inside of the bark, which will grow over the cement 
with remarkable rapidity. Sometimes, to fill the cavity 
to the top, it is necessary to bore a hole from above and to 
pour in the wet concrete. After the filling is in place care- 
fully paint over any exposed wood, especially where it 
comes in contact with the cement. 

Care should be taken not to use cement just before a 
freeze may be expected. A newly finished job, however, 
may be protected from several degrees of frost by tying a 
heavy blanket or some old sacking over it. Do not let the 
cold prevent your cleaning out and painting the wounds 
now. In the spring, after further treatment if required, the 
filling may be put in in a few minutes. 

How to Mend a Split 

Next to decay, spHtting from wind or ice or over-fruiting 
probably causes more damage than anything else. Besides 
the breaking apart of limbs there is 
usually more or less injury to the ad- 
jacent bark. In cases of this kind the 
limbs should be put back into their 
proper position as soon as possible by 
tying heavy chains or ropes round 
them — protecting the bark with old 
sacking or slats of wood — and twist- 
ing these tight with an iron or stout 
wooden bar. To hold the damaged 
limbs in place permanently it is well 
to have made iron rods of the right 
length, with ring bolts at each end. 
Extra large washers, which may be 
slightly countersunk into the outer 
surfaces of the limbs, should be used 
for the bolts. AU injured parts should be cut away 
and the surfaces painted thickly just before the pieces are 
drawn tightly into place, as shown in the drawing on this 
page. 




312 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

Protect Your Young Fruit Trees 

Do not neglect to protect trees from injury. Guard the 
roots of young fruit trees from bark injury by rabbits or 
other rodents. Earth should be drawn up in a mound round 
the trees just before freezing weather. Newly planted 
trees so situated that they may be injured by wagon wheels 
should be protected by strong stakes driven about a foot 
distant, to which they may be held lightly by bands of 
burlap or pieces of old rubber hose, but not by string or 
wire. Trees near the curb, where horses may get at them, 
should be protected by wire guards. Older trees may be 
used as hitching posts without danger of injury by the 
simple expedient of putting a screw ring or a short chain 
and snap into one end of a short stake and securing the 
other end to the tree by two stout staples, allowing the 
stick to hang down out of the way when not in use. 

Limbs that have been broken should be cut back to the 
trunk or the parent limb of the tree, and the scars, if more 
than an inch or so in diameter, should be painted over. 

Grading Around a Tree 

Sometimes fine trees are injured in grading work. Earth 
is filled in directly against the base of the trunk. To over- 
come this danger a low wall may be built round the tree, 
a couple of feet or less distant, and up to the grade line. If 
the ground can be given a slight pitch in all directions from 
the tree, and the soil below it is well drained, this is all that 
is necessary. If from the nature of the soil or the grade 
there is danger of water collecting at the foot of the tree, 
a circle of drain tiles should be laid about it with several 
connecting lines or spokes extending from the base of the 
pit, so that any surplus water will be distributed through 
the tiles over a considerable area. 

Forcing Roots Indoors 

Before the ground freezes hard prepare some asparagus 
and rhubarb roots for winter forcing under the bench in 
the greenhouse or in a warm, fairly light cellar. With a 



NOVEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 313 

sharp spade cut round and under some of the largest and 
oldest crowns. Good balls of earth should be secured with 
the roots, which should be taken out intact if possible. 
It is not necessary to take them up now; if they are simply 
loosened and left in the hole they will freeze solid, to be 
removed later, a few at a time, if a good supply is available. 

This plan will not only give you fresh rhubarb for winter, 
but your bed will be benefited, for you will have room to 
take up and divide the remaining roots. If you have no 
outdoor bed from which to take roots a few may be bought 
at a reasonable price from some neighboring market 
gardener, or from your seedsman. But before forcing let 
them freeze. 

Place a few roots in a tight, shallow box, pack moss, 
chip-dirt or coal ashes about them to help hold the moisture, 
water thoroughly, and place them where they will have a 
moderate degree of heat. In cutting the first shoots of 
asparagus be careful not to cut through the other buds that 
are just starting. 

If you have grown a supply of Witloof, or French salad 
chicory, take up the strongest roots, trim them back to a 
convenient size, and plant them in a box of sand or sandy 
soil, covering them well. With warmth and plenty of mois- 
ture in a dark place, the new growth of leaves sent out will 
be tenderly blanched and will make a deHcious salad at 
the season of the year when fresh salads are scarce. Or 
the roots may be placed, upright, in a frame, covered with 
soil, and a layer of warm manure put over this, to stimulate 
growth. 

Drain Now to Save Time in Spring 

After all the other fall work is cleaned up there is usually 
a chance before hard freezing to do a lot of work that will 
save time next spring. For some time past both spring 
and fall in the East have averaged later than in former 
years. In several recent seasons we have been able to plow 
ahnost up to Christmastime, but our spring operations have 
been delayed from one to three weeks. 



314 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

If you have any patch of land that is cold and backward 
in the spring, remaining too wet to be worked when you 
would like to be getting ready to plant, by all means drain 
it now. A few dollars' worth of drain tile and a couple of 
days' work by an ordinary laborer under your supervision 
will vastly improve a considerable sized garden patch, and 
you may have the satisfaction of knowing that such soil 
is usually the best after it is properly drained. 

The tiles should be put down as deep as possible, at least 
two feet, preferably three, and if possible four. The lines 
of tile should be about twenty-five feet apart for a three- 
foot depth, and may be forty feet apart for a four-foot 
depth. The extra foot in the depth of the trenches pays well. 

In laying out the lines for the ditches locate the highest 
and the lowest points of the piece to be drained, and see 
that the tile, slopes slightly but without any exceptions, in 
the right direction. After the tile has been put in and before 
the ditch has been filled with the soil it will be well to test 
the system in two or three places with pailfuls of water. 

Fall Trenching 

In gardens small enough to be worked by hand thorough 
* ' trenching " will pay well . Instead of spading up the garden 
in the ordinary way throw out a furrow or ditch one spade 
deep across the plot. Then go over the same strip again, 
spading up and thoroughly breaking the lower soil, but 
leaving it where it was. Throw the next strip of top-soil on 
this, and in the same way thoroughly pulverize the strip of 
soil beneath it; and so continue to the other side of the piece. 
If you can give the surface a good dressing of manure before 
trenching by all means do so. You will then have your 
garden in the finest possible shape for next spring's planting 
— the manure well below the surface and largely converted 
into available forms of plant food, and the surface soil ready 
to work up fine as silk after the winter's disintegrating 
action on the soil particles. By the same token late fall 
plowing is desirable, except on slopes, where the soil may 
wash during heavy rains. 



December : First Week 

THE WINTER WINDOW GARDEN: VENTILATION; 
MOISTURE; SOIL; CARE. PROPAGATING 
BUSHES AND SHRUBS 

Something more than an appreciation of their beauty is 
required to make plants succeed in the house. It is com- 
paratively seldom that one sees really good specimens 
even in the living-rooms of those whose outside gardens are 
a summer-long delight. The cause of failure is generally 
lack of reaHzation of the change of environment under 
which the plants must be grown, rather than ignorance 
of their general requirements. The matter of being regular 
in the care of plants in the house is the most important 
step to success. Only a few minutes a day need be given, 
but those few minutes should be given every day. If you 
are not willing to concede this much attention at the outset 
you would better let the florist see to the growing of your 
plants. 

Devotion and regularity alone, however, will accomplish 
nothing. In addition you must provide a suitable place 
in which to keep the plants; kinds and varieties that are 
suited to the conditions under which they must be grown; 
and common sense, mixed with some experience, in their care. 

The matter of a suitable place is open to some discussion. 
Many persons have the idea that if the room is only kept 
hot enough the plants will grow. They could make no 
greater mistake. A suitably high temperature is neces- 
sary, but other conditions just as essential are light, ade- 
quate means of ventilation, and moisture in the air. 

Light and Temperature 

Most of the flowering plants and many of the others 
should be given all the light possible during the winter 

315 



3i6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

months. Direct sun through a south window is sometimes 
too extreme, but this may be modified by drawing a. thin 
white curtain across the upper part of the window. A 
sunny window is decidedly desirable for the geranium 
and some other flowering plants, but others, such as the 
begonia, will do well in indirect light or in partial shade, 
and still others, such as the fuchsia, should be kept out 
of the direct sunlight. 

So far as temperature requirements are concerned, plants 
suitable for indoor culture may be divided into two classes : 
First, those that will thrive with a night temperature of 
forty-five to fifty degrees; second, those requiring fifty to 
sixty degrees. If it is not possible to have two rooms or 
two windows where a difference in temperature may be 
maintained, more satisfactory results will be had by select- 
ing all the plants for your window garden from either one 
class or the other. A drop of five or ten degrees for a few 
hours, on an exceptionally cold night, will not prove fatal, 
but many repetitions will severely check the plants and keep 
them in a practically dormant condition. The day tem- 
perature may range from five to fifteen degrees higher 
than the figures given. 

Plants Must Have Fresh Air 

Two facts that the grower of plants in the house is likely 
to overlook are that fresh air and normally moist air are 
as essential to the plants' continued good health as are 
warmth, light and watering. 

Neglect of these two things undoubtedly causes the 
great majority of house-plant troubles, either directly or in- 
directly, through the fostering of insects and disease. For 
best results the plants should be given fresh air every day, 
with the very occasional exception of very cold, windy 
or stormy days. The more indirect the ventilation can 
be, the better, so long as it is thorough. Direct drafts 
should be avoided. Fresh air from an adjacent hall, or 
from a window in the next room, with a window in the 



DECEMBER: FIRST WEEK 317 

plant room opened at the top to allow the escape of dead 
air, makes an ideal arrangement, and one that incidentally 
will be very beneficial to the human as well as to the botan- 
ical inmates of the room. 

Next to the variations in temperature the chief drawback 
to growing plants in the house is the burned-out condition 
of the atmosphere. Steam, hot air and hot water all rap- 
idly dry up the normal amount of moisture in the air. 
A certain degree of air moisture, however, is just as essen- 
tial to plant growth as is soil moisture. The only sure 
way of keeping the air moist is to have a special place, 
large or small, for the plants, that can be regulated inde- 
pendently of the living-room. When plants are kept in 
the living-room, however, moisture can be maintained to 
a satisfactory degree by frequently changing the air and 
by keeping bowls or pans of water on or near the stoves 
or radiators, where it will evaporate. Another thing to 
be kept in mind is to select a place for the plants where 
they may readily be got at, watered and cared for. Inac- 
cessibility is frequently one of the causes of troubles; 
bugs get a start or pots dry out before one notices; 
or because of the trouble of tending them the plants are 
neglected. 

If you plan to keep anything more than a rubber tree, a 
fern dish or a single geranium in your winter window garden 
it will pay to fix a place of suitable size that can be shut 
off from the rest of the room temporarily when required, 
and where watering can be done without making a muss. 
If you have a bay window that can be devoted to the pur- 
pose and that can be shut off by glass doors or heavy cur- 
tains, nothing better could be asked. 

A Window Conservatory 

If you cannot use a bay window, here is a simple plan 
that will be found satisfactory: Secure a wide cypress or 
white-pine board an inch thick and as long as or a little 
longer than the window. Round the edges nail thin strips 



3i8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

about two inches wide, flush with the bottom and pro- 
jecting an inch or so above the upper edges of the board. 
Stain or paint this to match the window frame and give 
it a heavy coating of spar varnish. Get two stout brass 
brackets and fasten the shelf to the window frame in such 
a way that the window may be opened, and the window 
shade drawn down inside the shelf. If desired a similar 
shelf, but preferably a narrower one, may be placed at a 
suitable distance above it. 

To the top of the window fasten a small rod upon which 
a curtain may slide easily. This support, which should 
project far enough so the curtain will hang outside the 
plant shelf, may be made of two heavy sockets strong 
enough to support the rod and the curtain, two short end 
pieces, two elbows and one piece of rod or tubing the width 
of the window or of the plant shelf. 

A layer of sphagnum moss topped with white pebbles 
or with clean, coarse gravel, into which the pots can be 
sunk, will look neat, will absorb surplus water and will 
keep the plants from drying out as quickly as they do on 
unsightly saucers. The shelves may be taken down after 
the plants are set outdoors in spring. 

An ordinary window may easily be converted into a 
miniature plant conservatory. A storm window placed 
outside the regular window forms the front, two narrow 
windows of the desired width form the sides, and inch 
boards covered with roofing paper and painted to match 
the window trimming, form the roof and the floor of this 
simple but roomy little bay. 

Soil for Potted Plants 

Soil for most house plants should be light, friable and 
moderately rich. The ingredients may be good garden 
loam, sifted leaf mold or decomposed sod, sand, and a 
little bone meal — about a teaspoonful to a four-inch pot. 
Geraniums do well in a heavier soil. Ferns, begonias and 
other plants with root growth of a fibrous character do 
well in a lighter mixture — that is, more leaf mold or sod 



DECEMBER: FIRST WEEK 319 

in proportion to the loam. Pots more than three or three 
and a half inches in diameter should be supplied with 
drainage material — a few pieces of broken pot so placed 
that none of them will lie flat across the hole in the bottom 
and clog it up, and any rough, porous material on top of 
them. 

As to daily care of plants in the house remember it is 
just as easy and as fatal to overdo as to underdo. Don't 
" fuss " with your plants. They should be looked after every 
day and examined every few days, but the less they are 
handled the better, except for occasionally turning halfway 
round so they will not be drawn toward the light and made 
one-sided. 

The surface of the soil in the pot should be stirred oc- 
casionally. Weak liquid manure may be fed to advantage 
to the plants, especially when they are blooming. Nitrate 
of soda, used at the rate of a tablespoonful to a ten or 
twelve quart watering can, is excellent for this purpose. 
Fine bone flour, sprinkled on barely to cover the surface 
of the soil and worked in with an old spoon or a knife is 
also effective, and these two make a combination contain- 
ing nitrogen and phosphoric acid in forms that will be 
both immediately and gradually available. Unleached 
wood ashes may be mixed with the plant soil to form a 
source of potash. 

Give your plants water only when needed; then water 
thoroughly. To find just how much to give knock some 
of the earth balls out of the pots ten or fifteen minutes 
after watering and see if the water has soaked clear through 
to the bottom; if it has not you are not applying quite 
enough moisture. If the soil in the pots becomes dry 
enough to get hard stand the pots in a basin or tub, partly 
filled with water, until it becomes moist. 

Keeping Plants Healthy 

One of the important secrets of success is to keep your 
plants clean — free from both dust and bugs. Close the 
doors or curtains of the plant-nook whenever the rooms are 



320 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

being swept or dusted. Every week or two syringe both 
upper and lower surfaces of the leaves of the plants with 
clear cold water. For this purpose a hard-rubber, goose- 
neck sprinkler costing seventy-five cents or a dollar is very 
convenient. If you have only a few plants they may be set 
in a sink or a tub for this operation. 

Palms, rubber trees and other large-leaved plants should 
occasionally be wiped off with a moist, soft cloth. Do not 
use olive oil or try any other stunts to make the leaves 
clean and shiny, as this will clog up the pores, which is 
just what should be avoided. Cut off promptly all dead 
leaves and flowers and any leaves that show signs of disease. 

Plants that are carefully looked after and given an 
abundance of fresh air will seldom be troubled by insect 
pests. Avoid furnishing your enemies congenial conditions, 
such as overcrowding, overheating, poor Ught, dryness — in 
fact anything that will have a tendency to check or weaken 
the growth of the plants. The insects most likely to be 
encountered inside the house are the green aphis or plant 
louse; the ''mealy bug" — a soft-bodied scale that hides 
under a white covering resembling a minute tuft of cotton; 
the white fly; and the red spider, which is about the size 
of a grain of pepper, infests the under sides of the leaves 
and is indicated by a light green color of the foHage, with 
minute yellow spots. Nicotine sprays, kerosene emulsion, 
etc., are as effective indoors as out. The plants should be 
watched carefully, and a suitable remedy used at the first 
sign of trouble. 

The quickest, simplest and cleanest remedy for any of 
these pests is a hot bath. This can be given readily when 
only a few plants are to be treated. Dip them quickly, 
several times in succession, into water heated to 140 to 160 
degrees; rinse them off in clear, cold water. In applying 
this treatment for the white fly do it when the plant is 
quite cold, and the insects are dormant. Other remedies 
are: Nicotone in one of the several trade forms that simply 
have to be diluted with water and applied; tobacco dust, 
which is specially good as a preventive; and kerosene 



DECEMBER: FIRST WEEK 321 

emulsion for scale and for the sucking nymphs of the white 
fly. Cold water applied with as much force as possible 
will help to dislodge the red spider; a small brush dipped 
in alcohol or kerosene will quickly dispose of the pernicious 
mealy bug. 

Propagating Bushes and Shrubs 

If you have use for any more grapevines, gooseberry 
or currant bushes, or such shrubs as deutzias, weigelias 
and forsythias, you can propagate your own. All these 
things may be bought at reasonable prices, but it is fun to 
do the work yourself. The cuttings should be six to ten 
inches long, and made of new growth that is ripe enough 
to be firm. At least two buds or pairs of buds should be 
taken in each cutting, the bottom one being quite close 
to the lower end. These cuttings should be placed in a 
small box of sphagnum moss, sand or sawdust in the cellar. 
For convenience, if you are making several of each sort, 
tie them in small bundles, carefully tagged. This winter 
storage allows the cuttings to callus and to undergo other 
changes that make them ready to root quickly when set 
out in spring. 

Set New Varieties of Flowering Plants Now 

Every enthusiastic gardener likes to add to the collection 
of flowering plants the newer varieties. Frequently, how- 
ever, these cost in the spring from two to five times as 
much as standard plants of the same size. If you are 
keeping plants in the house and have room for a few ad- 
ditional pots, buy now small-sized plants of these newer 
things, and grow them on during the winter. This will 
give you not only several additional months of enjoyment, 
but also good stocky plants at half or quarter what they 
would cost you if you waited until May or June. If you 
are near a florist you can generally buy small plants of 
these newer things and have them repotted when you 
get them; they will then grow without further attention, 
so far as pots are concerned, for some months. 



December : Second Week 

THE WINTER CAMPAIGN IN ORCHARD AND 
GARDEN: WINTER SPRAYING; WINTER 
PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES; CANE FRUITS 
AND SHRUBS 

Early winter is the ideal time to catch many of the 
orchard and garden pests off their guard. They are in a 
torpid state and can be located more readily. We can 
also use much stronger sprays on dormant trees than we 
can use in summer, and the absence of leaves makes possible 
a much more thorough and convenient job of spraying. 

The work may be done at any time from fall until growth 
starts in spring, but the best time is now. We may have 
one of those remarkable Indian summers running almost up 
to Christmas, but remember what kind of weather we 
are Hkely to get in January, February and March, and do 
your Christmas spraying early! 

The outfit required for the home grounds, the fruit trees 
and garden, is simple. In addition to your regular knap- 
sack or compressed-air garden sprayer you need a spray 
pole, or a length of quarter-inch hose which you can fasten 
to a sawed-off bamboo fish pole, and one or two suitable 
spray nozzles. If you don't already own a knapsack or a 
compressed-air sprayer make yourself a Christmas present 
of one at once — not for winter spraying alone, but because 
you will need it every month, almost every week, to take 
proper care of your summer garden, flowers, potted plants, 
house plants, and so forth. Your sprayer should be 
equipped with an automatic valve and an anti-clog noz- 
zle, then the starting and stopping of the spray can be 
controlled with your left hand while your right is free to 
manage the pole and to direct the spraying. 

322 



DECEMBER: SECOND WEEK 323 

There are a number of good nozzles on the market, but 
for operations on foot under the trees select one of the 
goose-necked or angle type. With this, a simple turn of 
the wrist will direct the spray in any desired direction and 
save a great deal of shifting from one side of the branch or 
tree to the other. A cup-shaped washer of stiff leather, 
three or four inches in diameter, that will slip tightly over 
the pole, will keep the spray material from running down 
the pole and up your sleeve; and a wooden handle made 
of soft pine, bored out just large enough to fit snugly over 
the spray pipe, and held in any desired position by a set 
screw (made of any ordinary screw with the end squared off), 
will make the handhng of the pole more convenient. These 
can be made with jackknife and bitstock. 

The Pests to Spray For 

The orchard pests that we can fight successfully in winter 
are the various scales and scabs, though spraying now 
will help to control a number of the other insect pests, and 
will check still others by destroying cocoons, egg masses or 
dormant larvae. Some of the scales are rather hard to find 
and all are very small and innocent looking in comparison 
with the serious damage they can accompHsh. Here are 
some of the things to spray for: 

San Jose scale, which is about the size and shape of the 
head of a small pin, with a miniature "crater" at the center 
of a full-grown specimen. When they have been allowed to 
multiply unchecked, plainly discernible colonies, or small 
patches of "crust," form on the branches. If any of your 
fruit showed small red-rimmed spots last fall they were 
the trade-mark of the San Jose scale. 

Oyster-shell scale forms colonies that incrust small apple 
twigs and make patches on the larger limbs like the fore- 
going. The scale, however, is of a different form, being 
something the shape of an oyster shell, with a distinct point 
or head at one end. 

Scurfy scale, about one-eighth of an inch long, resembles 



324 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

the oyster-shell scale, but underneath the minute crust 
you may find small purplish-colored eggs. 

Cottony maple scale attacks not only maples but numer- 
ous other ornamental trees. In early spring or summer it 
resembles small tufts of cotton at the outer ends of the 
branches. It winters over as an inconspicuous brown scale 
on the rough bark of larger Kmbs and branches. 

Rose scale resembles the scurfy scale, but is lighter in 
color and attacks roses and cane fruits. 

The saw fly has greenish, spiny larvas that feed upon 
the leaves of the cane fruits. It is susceptible to winter 
spraying. 

Winter Sprays and Spraying 

The two specifics for winter spraying are lime-sulphur 
wash and miscible oil preparations. For use in the small or- 
chard it is generally more convenient to buy sprays ready 
to dilute with water than to attempt to mix them at home. 
If you are not familiar with the different brands it will be a 
good plan to write to your experiment station for advice. 

If you prefer to make your own lime-sulphur boil for an 
hour in an iron kettle four pounds of lump lime, three 
pounds of flowers of sulphur and five gallons of water, 
adding five gallons more water when ready to spray. 
Spraying is done preferably before the mixture has entirely 
cooled. A " self -boiled " mixture may be made by using 
lump lime, flowers of sulphur and water in the proportion 
of eight each of lime and sulphur and fifty gallons of water. 
Slake the lime in a little warm water, and when it is slaking 
freely sift in the sulphur and stir thoroughly until a thick 
paste results. Keep it covered until it is through '' boiling '^ 
and then cool down with the remainder of the water, and 
use as soon as possible. 

Success in spraying — with a reliable mixture — depends 
entirely upon the thoroughness of the job. Every square 
inch of surface and each crack and crevice must be entirely 





Plate 28. — New trees from old! First: tall, brushy apple tree, the 
result of several years' neglect. Second: after the first pruning, top low- 
ered, decayed and surplus wood removed. 




Plate 29. — New trees from old! Third: Two years later: many, vigorous 
new, young branches, again beginning to get crowded. Fourth: Pruned again; 
much of the old wood left the first time, removed; a "head" of healthy, young 
wood, that can be trained into a low, spreading tree, on the old foundation. 



DECEMBER: SECOND WEEK 325 

covered or the work will avail little. San Jose scale, for 
instance, reproduces at the rate of about three billions a 
year; so a comparatively few scales left by careless spraying 
will very quickly get the tree back into as bad condition 
as it was before. One decided advantage that the miscible 
oils have over the lime-sulphur is that they spread and 
work more thoroughly into the crevices and under rough- 
nesses of the bark. 



The Important Work of Winter Pruning 

Just as important as the spraying is the winter job of 
pruning. With the exception of a number of the flowering 
shrubs growing in borders or masses, and a few of the orna- 
mental trees, every tree, bush and brier on the place re- 
quires attention in this regard if you aim for the best results. 
It is possible to keep them healthy without pruning, but 
you cannot get the best quahty or the biggest quantity of 
fruit or flowers by letting the trees and shrubs alone. The 
plants will produce too much wood and consequently more 
buds than they can develop. 

The equipment required for pruning is even more simple 
than the necessary spraying outfit — a sharp knife, a wide- 
set cutting-off saw, and a stepladder or light, long ladder. 
If you are going to buy any special tools a combined pole 
saw and pruning knife may be had for $1.75, and will 
enable you to handle ordinary-sized trees from the ground 
and to do the work very quickly. A pair of pruning shears, 
costing from fifty cents up, is also a great convenience. 
Specially prepared creosote or tree paint may be had at 
a reasonable price, but ordinary outside heavy lead paint 
will do. All branches more than an inch and a half in 
diameter should, after being sawed off, be painted over 
to prevent decay before the bark has a chance to grow over 
the wound. 

The first thing to remove in all pruning operations is 
dead, decaying, bruised or diseased wood. What you 
should cut away in addition to that will depend upon the 



326 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

nature of the tree or shrub being pruned, and the result 
you are after. As a general rule, the danger is that you 
will do too little rather than too much pruning. When in 
doubt cut it off! 

The amount of winter pruning that should be done on 
your fruit trees depends upon their age and previous treat- 
ment. Newly planted apple, pear, peach and cherry trees 
will require very little pruning if they were properly cut 
back when planted. From those that have been planted 
several years superfluous crossing limbs should be cut, 
and lateral growth, which will tend to form spreading, 
open heads, should be encouraged. Peach trees in bearing 
should be cut back severely. Old trees, especially apple 
trees, may be cut back very severely to advantage, but it 
is best to spread the pruning over two or three seasons 
unless a fair amount of good, live wood can be left to prevent 
too severe checking of growth. 

Remaking an Old Apple Tree 

Illustrations Number 28 and 29 show a middle-aged 
apple tree that had grown practically no good fruit for 
a number of years. It bore well the first year after prun- 
ing and spraying and has since come back very satis- 
factorily. In cases of this kind some of the larger sprouts 
or small, new, upright limbs are left to develop into new 
wood; then after these have had two or three seasons^ 
growth more of the older wood may be cut away. Prac- 
tically any old apple tree that is not entirely gone at the 
heart can be saved and with a few years' care made to pro- 
duce excellent fruit. 

In all pruning of old trees try to re-form the tree as near 
,the ground as possible, in order to facihtate spraying and 
picking of the fruit. Old trees that are up in the air alto- 
gether can be brought back into captivity only by " dehorn- 
ing." This process leaves nothing but the main trunk and 
the stubs of the main branches, the idea being to form 
practically an entirely new head upon this skeleton. Gen- 



DECEMBER: SECOND WEEK 327 

erally only a half or a third of the tree should be so treated 
at one cutting, and some experienced person should be con- 
sulted if this form of treatment is to be attempted. 

Drastic Treatment for the Cane Fruits 

The cane fruits — raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, 
and the various hybrids recently introduced — should also 
be severely pruned, or rather thinned. Next season's crop 
of fruit will be borne on canes produced this year. Old 
ones should all be cut out clean now if this has not already 
been attended to; the others should be shortened back 
slightly to lessen the chance of their being injured by 
whipping about in strong winds. Have your hands and 
wrists well protected when you tackle this job. In very 
cold climates it is necessary to lay down the more tender 
varieties, and in some cases even to cover them with earth 
to protect them during the winter. 

These things are prickly, but some of the gooseberries 
are more so; yet they need severe pruning, not only to pro- 
duce better fruit, but to make sure of any at all. Branches 
that bend over and touch the soil should be cut off, and 
the plants should be kept very open so that light and air 
can get to every part of them, as they are very susceptible 
to mildew. Currants will continue to bear year after 
year even if they are not pruned, but the quality of the 
fruit will be very greatly improved if the bushes are kept 
quite severely cut back. The best fruit is borne on wood 
that is two or three seasons old, therefore in pruning cut 
out any surplus new growth of the present season and wood 
that is four years or more old. Examine the remaining 
canes carefully for the borer. 

Winter Pruning oj Shrubs and Roses 

Single or specimem shrubs should, after several years' 
growth, have a Httle of the old wood cut out each year to 
prevent overcrowding. The longer branches should be 



328 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

headed in to maintain symmetrical shape. Regular prun- 
ing of rose bushes should be given in the spring. All that 
they require now is the heading in of any long, new canes 
that are likely to be beaten about in the winter's storms. 
In pruning shrubs at this time of the year it is well not to 
touch any of those that bloom in spring or early summer, 
as the flower buds are already formed for next year, and 
whatever wood is cut away will mean a corresponding loss 
in blossoms. 

Keep a sharp lookout for the egg masses and cocoons of 
caterpillar or insect pests in your section. If you are not 
familiar with their winter costumes your state experiment 
station probably has a bulletin describing them. The tent 
caterpillar, which for the last two years has denuded wild 
cherries and unprotected apple trees throughout large sec- 
tions of the country, may readily be destroyed in winter. 



December : Third Week 

THE CARE OF GIFT PLANTS AFTER CHRISTMAS: 
HOW TO KEEP THEM IN GOOD CONDITION 
AND SAVE THEM FOR ANOTHER YEAR. 
PICK OUT SHRUBS FOR WINTER BEAUTY 
NOW 

It would be an interesting job for an energetic statis- 
tician to figure out how many thousand dollars' worth of 
potted plants and flowers annually find their way from the 
florists' shops to the ash barrels during the brief holiday 
period. Part of this loss is due to the fact that the plants 
used are unsuitable for saving for further use; but by far 
the greater part is due to the recipients' lack of knowledge 
as to how the plants should be cared for. If you yourself 
give plants as presents select the more substantial sorts, 
which may be kept for a season or for several years. Many 
of the plants that the florists display at Christmas have 
been in preparation for a year or more, and with proper 
care most of them can be kept in good condition. 

Azaleas are perhaps the most beautiful of all the many 
beautiful hoKday plants, but since their requirements are 
different from those of ordinary house plants, most of them 
perish immediately. A good azalea costs the person who 
gives it to you several dollars; it is worth saving, especially 
since, with proper care, it may be made to increase in beauty 
for several years. 

After you have removed the florist's careful wrappings 
and examined the little card dangling from a lower branch, 
do not leave your azalea in the superheated atmosphere 
of the living-room, to be forgotten during the excitements 
of the following days. The little tree may be covered 
with blooms, and you will probably find that it also con- 

329 



330 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

tains a number of buds. If you do not take care of the 
plant these will wither and drop off, though with reasonable 
treatment they should nearly all make flowers for some 
weeks to come. 

Keep your azalea in a cool place — that is the first step 
toward preserving it. There is very little danger of its 
being too cool. Give it plenty of fresh air; there is no 
danger of giving it too much so long as direct cold drafts 
are avoided. A gas-laden atmosphere will very quickly 
ruin such blossoms and buds as there may be. 

By all means guard against the plant's drying out; it 
will require, while blooming, an abundance of water. The 
soil in which azaleas are potted is of such color and texture 
that it does not show lack of moisture so plainly as that 
used for other potted plants; furthermore, the fibrous 
roots are so thickly matted as to make the soil almost 
impervious to water once it becomes dry. The surest and 
easiest way to get the soil moist is to set the whole pot in 
a basin or a tub of water until it has absorbed all that it 
will. If the flowers begin to fade it is a pretty sure sign 
that the soil is getting too dry. 

To Make Azaleas Bloom Again 

So much for saving the flowers and buds that are on the 
azalea when you get it. An equally beautiful display 
during a large part of next winter is quite possible, but 
you should make preparations for next year's blooms as 
soon as this year's wither and fall. Secure from a neighbor- 
ing florist, or mix for yourself, a soil made up of sand, leaf 
mold and garden loam in equal proportions, with rotted 
peat added to about double the bulk. Shift the plant to a 
pot only about one size larger than that in which it has 
been growing. Have the new pot tho^^oughly crocked or 
drained, preferably with charcoal. Break up the old ball 
of roots with the fingers, and shake off or wash off a good 
part of the soil. Place it in position in the new pot, sift 
in a little of the prepared earth round it, and ram it down^ 



DECEMBER: THIRD WEEK 331 

hard with a blunt stick or the handle of a trowel; put in 
another layer of soil and treat it the same way. There is 
not much danger that you will pack the soil too hard, but 
there is much danger that you will not get it firm enough. 
It is not necessary to cover the plant any deeper than it 
was covered before; a few of the roots may show at the 
surface where they join the stem, but instead of hilling up 
round them let the earth slope up toward the edge of the 
pot, leaving a depression at the center. This will be a help 
in keeping the earth ball thoroughly wet. 

After repotting the plant give it a thorough watering; 
then withhold water for a week or so, but give the foHage 
a daily sprinkling or syringing. When the plant begins 
to show signs of new growth give more water round the 
roots, meantime keeping it in a shady place and not too 
warm. If it requires trimming into shape cut it back 
before new wood begins to form. As soon as it becomes 
established in the new pot keep it where it will get an 
abundance of light and fresh air. Do not let it lack for 
water, and as soon as the weather is warm enough in spring 
it may be plunged into the shrubbery border or some place 
near the house where it will be in partial shade during the 
heat of the day, and where it may be easily cared for. 
Take it into the house again just before freezing weather, 
keep it cool until you are ready to force it into flower again, 
and then give a little more heat and moisture. Apply 
liquid manure or nitrate of soda as the buds begin to swell. 

Araucarias, Begonias, and Cyclamens. 

The Araucaria, or Norfolk Island Pine, has become a 
favorite Christmas plant. This is as often killed by over- 
care as is the azalea by neglect. When it comes to you at 
Christmas, instead of being at the height of its season of 
active growth, Hke the azalea, it is at the middle of its 
natural dormant period. Instead of the high temperature 
and abundance of water that are usually given, it should 
be kept in as cool a position as possible and watered very 



332 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

sparingly. Early in spring it may be plunged into the 
ground out of doors. This is the time to repot it if repotting 
is necessary. Use a soil of half loam and half leaf mold and 
sand mixed together. A handful of unleached wood ashes 
will be beneficial. 

The beautiful Lorraine begonia frequently coaxes the 
dollar out of the pocket of the Christmas shopper. Un- 
fortunately it is not well suited to house conditions, but 
if you have one do the best you can with it. This plant 
should remain in flower for a long time. See that it has 
plenty of water, is protected from sudden changes in tem- 
perature and from gas, and is kept in a room where the air 
is as moist as possible. Many of the other begonias make 
ideal plants for growing in the house, and when well flow- 
ered are unsurpassed as Christmas gifts. 

A well-flowered cyclamen vies with the azalea in profu- 
sion and beauty of bloom, and it may be kept without much 
trouble from year to year, increasing in size and beauty. 
If it is just beginning to bloom it should continue to send 
out buds and flowers for a long time. The plants of this 
kind sold at Christmas are usually twelve to fourteen 
months old from seed, and are having their first crop of 
flowers. Keep them very cool — as low as fifty degrees at 
night will not hurt — well suppUed with water, and watch 
them carefully for the green fly. When the crop of flowers 
seems exhausted and the leaves begin to turn old and 
yellow gradually withhold the water and dry off the ^' bulbs" 
to give them a resting period before starting new growth 
preparatory to next season's bloom. They may be kept 
in the pot or repotted in soil of the same character, but 
the so-called "bulbs" should not be allowed to dry out 
enough to shrivel. As soon as they show signs of making 
new growth, give more w^ater and light. During the sum- 
mer keep the plants outdoors in a cool, shady position, 
where they may be given plenty of water. Sprinkle to- 
bacco dust freely to keep off aphids. As the new bud 



DECEMBER: THIRD WEEK 333 

stalks begin to form, occasional applications of liquid 
manure will add greatly to the strength of the plants. 

Roses as House Plants 

The dwarf roses make charming pot plants and are coming 
into more favor each year. A number of them are adap- 
ted to house culture and flower almost all the year round. 
A number of other roses are used for Christmas sale, but 
unless they happen to be of the very few varieties adapted 
to withstand the hardships of house culture there is not much 
hope of having them for another season's bloom indoors. 

The greatest drawback to growing roses successfully in 
the house is the dry atmosphere. The plants must be 
kept clean by syringing the foliage frequently. Cold drafts 
or any sudden drops in temperature must be avoided, as 
these usually result in injury to the foliage through mildew. 
All the care needed by the dwarf roses is the cutting out 
of old flower spurs, an occasional repotting, and, for an 
abundance of bloom, the use once in a while of liquid 
manure, bone flour or wood ashes worked lightly into the top 
of the soil. In addition to the Baby Rambler, and several 
of the other *'Baby" roses, La: France, Hermosa, Agrippina, 
Clothilde Soupert and Maman Cochet, both white and 
pink, may with care be grown in the house. 

One way of handling roses is to cut back the old wood 
quite severely when they are through blooming, and to 
keep them rather dry and cool so they will remain dormant 
during summer. In early fall start them into growth and 
take them into the house as cold weather approaches; or 
they may be plunged into the ground outside and allowed 
to grow through the summer until the leaves drop. Then 
they should be put where they may be brought into the 
living-room and given heat and water when desired. Slight 
freezing in the meantime will not hurt them, but it is better 
to keep them in boxes rather than in pots, both because 
the earth may be maintained in a more even state of mois- 
ture, and because there is no danger of boxes cracking in 
case of a freeze. 



334 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

CallaSj Ferns, and Daisies 

Most of the many bulbs forced into flower for Christmas 
are of no further use in the house after we have done what 
we can to prolong their blossoming season. The old favor- 
ite callas, however, are an exception to this rule. They 
are rank feeders and appreciate frequent appHcations of 
Hquid manure, but are not otherwise exacting in their 
demands so long as they have plenty of sunHght and water 
and are kept free from green aphids. The more sunshine 
and heat they can get the better they will like it. Dry off 
gradually, and let the bulb rest during the summer by turn- 
ing the pot on its side in some shaded spot and leaving it 
there until about August. Then start it into growth again, 
repotting it first in soil that is about a third well-rotted 
manure, preferably cow manure. 

The various ferns, which also are very popular as Christ- 
mas gifts, are particularly satisfactory in positions where 
full sunlight cannot be given. They do best in compara- 
tively cool rooms, and do not require very frequent water- 
ing during the winter months. They should be watched 
carefully, however, and not allowed to dry out, as they 
may be considerably damaged before the foliage begins to 
show it. 

A number of the daisies and the Jerusalem cherry are 
used quite extensively as Christmas plants. Though not 
so beautiful as some of the foregoing, they are very bright 
and attractive and with any sort of care will thrive, even 
when the temperature occasionally drops quite low. 

Shrubs to Add Winter Beauty to the Place 

Though no transplanting and setting out of shrubs may 
be done at this season of the year, there is no other time so 
good for selecting shrubs to give life and color to your 
winter landscape. If possible visit some nursery, where 



DECEMBER: THIRD WEEK 335 

you can compare the various things that are valuable 
for winter foliage, berries or bark, and plan a selection to 
meet your own requirements. 

The various evergreens, low and tall, command first at- 
tention. Green, golden and silvery foliage can be had in 
the retinispora, thuja and juniper, and in the taller pine, 
hemlock and spruce. The red Siberian dogwood is one of 
the most showy of all the colored-bark shrubs. The willow 
family has a number of members with attractive yellow 
bark, including some of the common native sorts. And 
our beautiful native birches are in many locahties free for 
the taking. 

Among the winter berried shrubs are the barberry, snow- 
berry, Indian currant, rugosa rose, viburnum and euony- 
mus, to mention a half dozen of the best. None of these 
things is expensive, with the exception of some of the 
evergreens. A little planning now, and a few dollars in- 
vested next spring or fall, will enable you to add perma- 
nently to the winter beauty and attractiveness of your 
place. 



December : Fourth Week 

STARTING PLANTS FOR NEXT SUMMER'S 
FLOWER GARDEN: HOW TO MAKE AND ROOT 
CUTTINGS; POTTING AND CARE 

About the turn of the year you must begin to take 
thought for a supply of plants for next summer's flower 
garden. The chief advantage of growing one's own plants 
is the fun of doing it. In addition, there is the pleasure of 
being able to perpetuate some favorite flower that cannot 
be dupHcated when one buys plants in the spring. In a very 
limited amount of space it is possible to start plants which, 
if bought in the bedding season, would cost several dollars. 

Select such of your own plants as you care to propagate. 
To start a couple of hundred plants takes little room, for 
they may be placed, at first, about as close together as you 
can pack them. Do not, however, be tempted to start 
more than you can care for properly afterward, for each 
cutting after it is rooted will have to be given at least four 
square inches of room, whether it is placed in a pot or in a 
flat; and within a few more weeks it will need twice as much 
room. By the time the second shift is required, however, 
some of the plants can usually be put into a hot-bed or a 
cold-frame or placed in sunny windows, as there will be little 
danger of their being pinched by extremely cold nights. 

If your plants are in the right condition your cuttings 
may be prepared at any time and rooted at once. Often, 
however, it is desirable to start the plants into more active 
growth before the cuttings are taken. Plants of all kinds 
require a resting period or vacation some time during the 
year. During this period growth is checked. Softwood 
cuttings from plants in this condition are not so hkely to 
root readily as cuttings from plants in active growth. It is 

336 




Plate 30. — Here is a batch of fifteen geranium cuttings obtained from the 
two plants shown in plate 31 opposite page 337. A second lot was ready a 
few weeks later. {Lower) Two begonia cuttings. The one at the left has just 
begun to throw out its new roots and is ready to pot up. That on the right 
has been left in the cutting bed rather too long, and many of the roots had to 
be broken off in taking it up. Try to pot up your cuttings before the new 
roots get ov^er half an inch in length. 



DECEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 337 

best, therefore, before taking cuttings to start up into active 
growth any plants that may be resting. This is accom- 
plished, of course, by giving them more water and warmth 
and a little fertilizer, and by repotting, if that is required. 
Abnormal conditions, such as too much heat or too much 
stimulation, should, however, be avoided, as new growth 
that is soft, watery and weak is just as worthless as that 
which is too old. 

The wood where the cutting is to be taken should be 
plump and firm, but not hard. Of course the degree of 
firmness varies in different plants. In a coleus or a snap- 
dragon it may be comparatively soft, while in a geranium it 
is much harder. 

The Snapping Test 

You can determine when wood is in the right condition by 
applying the snapping test. This consists simply of bending 
the branch or shoot between the thumb and fingers to a right 
angle. If the wood snaps, but does not break clear off, it is 
in the right condition. If it merely bends it is too young or 
soft. If the bark cracks, but the interior fibers do not part, 
it is too old and tough. Often all three conditions of wood 
may be found on the same shoot, the tip being too soft and 
the lower joints too hard, while the middle is in just the 
proper condition to make one or more cuttings. 

As one of the most effective methods of starting plants 
into active new growth is pruning or cutting them back, 
you can often get a small supply of cuttings from the 
ripened but not hardened terminal shoots or branches of the 
plants that are cut back, and a second supply a few weeks 
later when the plants brought into active growth have pro- 
duced new supplies of wood suitable for the purpose. 

This plan is especially good when space is limited during 
the early spring months. Some plants will be in bloom 
ready to set out at the beginning of the bedding season; 
others will come out and bloom freely during the latter part 
of the summer and early fall; and still others, which should 



338 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 

be kept disbudded in summer, will bloom inside during the 
fall and winter. 

The operation of making the cuttings is very simple. Use 
a sharp knife, so that it will make a clean, neat cut, leaving 
no bruises or ragged edges. The cuttings should be made, 
for most kinds of plants, from two to four or five inches 
long. If the wood is in the right condition several may be 
made from the same branch. The cutting may be taken off 
just below a joint or between the joints, depending on where 
the wood is the best. If it is cut off slightly slanting the 
slip may be more readily pushed down into the sand, but 
it will root just as well if cut straight across. The leaves 
should be removed from the lower part of the cutting, and 
those near the top, if large, should be cut back about half. 
This is to lessen the possibility of their wilting, which should 
be guarded against while the cutting is forming new roots. 
Cuttings or slips are sometimes broken off, instead of cut off, 
and though they frequently root, this is not so sure a 
method as the other. In early summer, when conditions 
are favorable, whole branches of geraniums that have been 
accidentally broken off may be rooted by simply sticking 
them into the moist soil of the bed out-of-doors. After 
cuttings have been made they may be kept a reasonable 
length of time before being used, but they should not be 
exposed to hot sunshine or allowed to become dry. If they 
are wilted badly when ready to be used the}/ may be revived 
by allowing them to soak in clear, cold water. 

If the plants from which the cuttings are taken are in- 
fested with insects or scale of any kind get the cuttings 
absolutely clean before you attempt to root them. This 
may be accomplished by dipping them quickly several 
times in water heated to about 150 degrees, or by rinsing 
them in a nicotine spray solution, and rinsing them after- 
ward, in either case, in clear, cold water. As a rule, how- 
ever, cuttings should be taken only from perfectly healthy 
plants in vigorous condition of grov/th. 



DECEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 339 

Starting the Cuttings 

The cuttings may be rooted in any of several ways. A 
room or place where a fairly even temperature may be main- 
tained is necessary. Plants that start in a moderate tem- 
perature are more Hkely to be healthy and vigorous than 
those grown in a very warm place. The temperature should 
if possible be kept up to forty or forty-five degrees, though 
frequently cuttings will take root when the temperature 
drops occasionally to very near freezing during the process. 

The material in which to keep the cuttings until the new 
roots form may be sand, sand and water, or pure water. 
The former is generally used, though the second, which is 
known as the saucer system, may sometimes be used to 
advantage when only one or two dozen cuttings are to be 
made. If sand is to be used procure an ordinary flat or 
shallow box, two or three inches deep. If the bottom is 
very tight, bore half a dozen holes in it. In this place a 
layer of coarse chip dirt or excelsior from the woodshed and 
then put in two inches of clean, medium coarse sand, such 
as masons use. Dirty sand may be cleansed in a few minutes 
by placing it in a pail and shoving a piece of hose through 
to the bottom, letting the water carry the impurities off 
from the top. After thoroughly saturating the sand, let it 
drain to remove all surplus water, and then place the cut- 
tings to about half their depth in it, seeing that the sand is 
packed firmly and closely about them. Do not leave them 
in a wabbly state. 

By the second, or saucer, method, the sand is placed in a 
shallow glazed bowl or dish and kept wet enough so that 
water stands upon the surface all the time. The dish is 
placed in a warm window in the full sunlight, and the sand 
is kept constantly saturated, which will require the addition 
of a small amount of water each day. If the sand once dries 
out the cuttings are lost. 

Some plants, such as the oleander, that have compar- 
atively hard wood and are slow in rooting, may be made 
into long cuttings and stuck into a bottle of water into which 



340 



AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



a few small pieces of charcoal have been dropped to keep it 
pure. One or the other of the foregoing methods is, however, 
usually more satisfactory. 

For several days after the cuttings are put into the sand 
they should be kept shaded during the hottest part of the 
day. If they show any tendency to wilt give them an 
occasional sprinkling with a plant sprinkler or, if that is not 
at hand, with a clothes sprinkler or a wet whisk broom. 

The sand itself, however, 
i^^'^ «vg -2^ ^ <g ^, <ig. g^^ will not need another 

watering for some days — 
not until it begins to dry 
out on the surface. The 
ends of the cuttings callus 
over before any roots be- 
come visible, and during 
this stage the cuttings are 
likely to rot if the sand is 
kept too moist. 

If possible give the cut- 
tings box bottom heat. Set 
it up on two or three blocks or bricks on a radiator, or sup- 
port it over a register. If neither of these is possible a simple 
propagating arrangement may easily be made as follows: 
Line a cracker box (A) with cheap tin, or old metal roofing, 
cutting in the bottom a number of large holes with an auger 
or with an expansive bit. To this bottom nail a six-inch 
section of another cracker box or a shallow cooky box (B). 
Cut a section from one side of the whole box for a door (C), 
holding it in place with leather straps or cheap hinges. 
]\Iake this door large enough to admit an ordinary hand 
lamp (D) or a small oil stove so that it can be put in and 
taken out conveniently. Bore a small hole in the door so 
you can see the flame of the lamp when it is in place. 




DECEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 341 

This apparatus, with reasonable care, will be perfectly 
safe and will not require attention frequently. If the lamp 
seems to heat the tin above it too much, the shallow box 
may be raised to any desired height on blocks. The cut- 
tings box, which should of course be of the same size as the 
others, should be placed on top of the second box. The mild 
bottom heat secured in this way will greatly facihtate the 
rapid rooting of the cuttings. If two flats of cuttings are 
to be rooted they may be set crossways of the box and any 
warm-blooded cuttings, such as heliotrope, salvia or coleus 
may be placed in the middle. 

When the cuttings are rooted, which will usually be in two 
to four weeks, they should be taken from the sand and put 
into pots or into other flats. Do not let the roots get very 
long — a quarter of an inch is long enough. If room is very 
scarce set the plants in a flat. Fill this with fairly rich 
earth containing a good proportion of sand, and see that it is 
well drained. Plant the Httle rooted cuttings in this, about 
two inches apart each way, shading them for a few days 
from the hot sun, and watering them sparingly until after 
they have become established. Or they may be put singly 
into two or two-and-a-half inch pots, or several cuttings may 
be placed in a four or five inch pot; in the latter case, plant 
your cuttings near the edge of the pot, and be very careful 
about overwatering. 

Buy Some Novelties Now 

If you want to keep your flower garden up to date you 
will be interested in trying several of the best of the novel- 
ties that appear from time to time. Now is the proper 
time of the year to get at low prices some of the fine new 
things that are offered. You will have to get smaller plants 
than if you waited until the bedding season, but there is 
ample time to grow them into good-sized plants before 
they should be set out. Space in greenhouse, hot-bed or 
warm window, and a supply of pots and soil, are the only 
requisites. 



INDEX 



Acid phosphate, 53 

Air, need of, in soil, 50 

Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate, no 

Annuals, making beds for, 90; start- 
ing of, 80 

Anthracnose, 137 

Aphis, 136; (on roses), 154 

Apple, grafted, distance apart, 57; 
scab, 113; tree, distance apart, 57 

Apples, varieties of, 60 

Araucaria, 331, 332 

Arbor Vitae, 207 

Arsenate of lead, 139 

Asparagus bed, care of old (renewing 
and maintaining), 116; bed, making 
of, 92; beetle, 118; beetle, 136 (right 
one); cutting of, 117; for winter 
use, 313; varieties, 23 

Aster beetle, 136 

Asters, early and late, 129 

Azalea, care of flowering plant, 329, 
330, 33^ 

B 

Beans, as a succession crop, 145; gen- 
eral suggestions, 106; good variety 
of, 23; harvesting, 271; lima, start- 
ing of in pots, 106; putting in, 102 

Bed, flower, squaring comers of, 96; 
rose, 79 

Bedding plants, 1 24 (geranium) ; keep- 
ing over, 194 

Beds, flower, preparing, 76 

Beets, for winter use, 143; good varie- 
ties of, 23; growing imder glass, 280; 
planting of, 72; storing for winter, 

273^ 
Begonias, care of, 332 



Binders, soil, 191 

Blackberries, distances apart, 57; 

varieties of, 58 
Black rot, 114 
Blanching celery, 187 
Blight, 137 
Blister mite, 113 
Bone flour, 53; for growing plants, 

64 
Bordeaux mixture, making of, use of, 

109 
Border, hardy, 79; preparing, 90; 

spring work with, 79 
Borers, 136 

Bouquet, quahties of a good, 158 
Broccoli, varieties of, 23, 24 
Brussels sprouts, for winter supply, 

143; varieties of, 23 
Buckwheat, 191 
Bud moth, 113 
Bulb garden, planning, 227 
Bulbs, best varieties for forcing, 249, 

250; depth to plant, 266; fall, 226; 

fall planting of, 264; forcing for 

winter bloom, 248; how to force, 

252, 253; method of planting, 228; 

number needed, 229; ordering, 233; 

preparation of soil for fall planting, 

264, 265; soil for forcing, 251; 

spring, 227; winter mulch for, 268 



Cabbage, for winter storing, 174; for 
winter supply, 143; good varieties 
of, 24; planting of, 72; storing for 
winter, 274; the year around, 24 

Callas, 334 

Cane fruit beds, care of, 121; fruits, 
pruning and care, 327 



343 



344 



INDEX 



Cankerworm, 113 

Carrots, for winter supply, 143 ; varie- 
ties of, 24; growing under glass, 280; 
planting of, 73; storing for winter, 

273 

Catch crops, 191 

Caterpillars, 136 

Cauliflower, as succession crop, 145; 
varieties of, 24; planting of, 73 

Celery, 183; blanching, 273; for the 
winter supply, 143; good varieties 
of, 25; methods of blanching, 187; 
soil for, plants, handling of plants 
in flats, buying plants, 183, 184, 185, 
186, 187, 188; storing for winter, 
273; transplanting, 18; trimming 
roots, 186 

Cherries, varieties of, 60 

Chewing insects, 135 

Chionodoxas, 234, 268 

Chrysanthemums, for indoor bloom- 
ing, 307; time to select stock, 307 

Climbing roses, training of, 157 

Codling moth, 113 

Cold frames, 256; repairing, and up- 
keep, 5 ; substitutes for, 76 

Commercial manure, 63, 64 

Compost, for hotbed, 42, 43 

Concrete, 283; forms for, 285; how to 
mix, 284 

Corn, general suggestions, 106; good 
varieties of, 25; putting in, 102 

Cottonseed meal, 53 

Cover crops, 189 

Cowpeas, as cover crop, 190 

Crimson clover, 191 

Crops, cover, for turning under, 189; 
for green manuring, 189 

Crocuses, 234 

Cucumbers, for succession, 146; varie- 
ties of, 25; growing under glass, 
279; putting in, 102; saving for 
use after frost, 270 

Cultivation, as a means of fighting 
drought, 148; in dry weather, 148; 
late, 223; shallow, 173; time of, 17, 



18; to retain moisture, 148; with 

wheel hoe, 17 
Curculio, 113 
Currants, distances apart, 57; handling, 

122; soil for, 57; varieties of, 58 
Currant worm, 1 13 
Curves, road, making of, 96 
Cut flowers, keeping fresh, 158 
Cuttings, 321, 336-341; care of, loi; 

handling of, 197; hardwood, 100; 

when to root, 254 
Cutworms, 136 
Cyclamen, 332 

D 

Daffodils, 230 

Dahlias, care of, 128; handling of, 128 

Dewberries, distances apart, 57; varie- 
ties of, 58 

Diary, garden, keeping of, advantages 
of, use of, 33, 34 

Dirt bands, use of, 105 

Diseases, 137, 138 

Drainage, lawn, 201 

Dried blood, 53 

Drought, methods of fighting, 148, 149 

Dry weather planting, 142 

Dwarf roses, as house plants, 333 

E 

Edging lawn, 100 

Egg-plants, and peppers, saving for use 

after frost, 271; varieties of, 25; 

putting in, 102, 106; summer care 

of, 172 
Elm-leaf beetle, 113 
Endive, varieties of, 25 
Espalier, fruit, 297 
Evergreen shrubs, 335 
Evergreens, planting of, 207 



Fall draining, 313, 314; frosts, pre- 
paredness for, 223; planting, 207, 
241; planting, advantages of, 235; 
plowing, 314; sowing, 222; trench- 
ing, 314 



INDEX 



34S 



Fence, garden, 6i 

Ferns, as house plants, 334 

Fertilizers, applying of, 54; com- 
plete, 50; detailed, 189; garden, 50; 
home mixing, 53; how to buy, 52; 
in planting vegetables in garden, 
70; storing of, 53 

Field peas, as cover crop, 190 

Firming seed, 176 

Flats, tagging of, 40; use of and mak- 
ing, 39 

Flea beetle, 136 

Flower beds, watering, 151; garden, 
available material for, 46; garden, 
planning the, 45 

Flowers, arrangement of, 46; cutting, 
158; for special purposes, 47; keep- 
ing fresh, 158 

Forcing frames, 85 

Frames, construction of, 258; cost 
of material for, 259; making, 11; 
soils for, 256, 261; uses of, 11; vege- 
tables for growing in frames, 259, 
260 

Frosts, first, 223 

Fruit, espalier and trained, 297; gar- 
den, available material for, 56; gar- 
den, layout of, 56; garden, planning 
of, 56, 57; harvesting and storing, 
271, 272; importance of, 55; trees, 
buying of, 60; trees, drainage for, 67; 
trees, location, 58; trees, protec- 
tion, 312; winter protection, 297 

Fruits, cane, satisfactory varieties, 58, 
59; soil for, 57; dwarf, distance 
apart, 57; small, care of, 121; small, 
hardiness, 55; small, order, 59; 
small, propagating, 100; small, rea- 
sons for, 55; soil for, 57; tree, satis- 
factory varieties of, 60; tree, soil 
for, 57 

Fungicides, no 



Garden, cleaning up in the fall, 296; 
preparing, 297 



Geraniimis, 124; good varieties of, 
124 

Gift plants, their care, 329-334 

Glass, laying of, in greenhouse con- 
struction, 219 

Gooseberries, distance apart, 57; 
handling, 122; soil for, 57; varieties 
of, 59 

Grades, construction of, 96; steep, 
sodding of, 98 

Grafting, 299 

Grapes, distances apart, 57; handling 
of, 122; varieties of, 59 

Grapevine for porches, 163 

Green fly, 154 

Greenhouses, 212; different types of, 
212; gardening, ventilation and 
watering, 281; heating of, 220; in- 
sects and diseases in, 281; making 
of small, 217; what can be grown 
in, 276; yields of vegetables that 
can be expected, 276 

Grounds, home, improving of, 93 

Guano, Peruvian, 64 

H 

"Hardening off, 68, 103, 104 

Hardy perennials, from seed, 166, 167, 
168, 169; growing of, 165; plants, 
cost of, 165 

Harvesting, vegetables and fniit, 
270 

Heating greenhouse, 220 

Hellebore, 139 

Hill system for strawberries, 181 

Hills, for vine crops, 115 

Hoes, different types, 8; onion, dif- 
ferent types, 9; scuffle attachment, 
18; single, wheel, 13; warren, 19; 
wheel, attachments for cultivation, 
18; wheel, different types, advan- 
tages of each, 9, 14, 15; wheel, 
double, cost of, 13, advantages of, 
points in buying, 13, 14; wheel, 
extra attachments, 16, 17; wheel. 



346 



INDEX 



handling in garden, i6; wheel, use 
of, care of, 15 

Home mixing, of fertilizers, 53 

Hose outfit, 150 

Hot beds, 256; filling of, 42, 43; frames, 
how to heat, 261; repairing and up- 
keep, 5 

House plants, 288; care of, 290, 291; 
favorable conditions for, 289; from 
cuttings, 196; from seed, 196; mak- 
ing, 189; old, 198; shelves for, 293; 
soil for, 291; temperature for, 289 

Hyacinths, distance apart, 229; varie- 
ties of, 232 



Indoor preparation for spring work, 
307, 308 

Inoculation of soil, 192, 193 

Insect enemies, 320, 321; attacking 
celery, 188; general classes of, 135; 
methods of fighting, 138; of vege- 
tables and flowers, 136; on plants 
in frames, 262, 263 

Insecticides for vegetables and flow- 
ers, no, 139 

Irises, bulbous, 267 

Iris, handling of, 246; transplanting, 
267; types of, 245 

Iron pipe, for trellises, etc., 287 

Irrigation, garden, 151; methods of, 
150; system, cost of installing, 152 



Japanese iris, 246 
Jonquils, 231 

K 

Kerosene emulsion, no, 139 
Kohl-rabi for succession, 146; varie- 
ties of, 25 



Labels, 85 
Laurel, 207 



Lawn, amount of seed required, 99; 
making a, 200, 201, 202, 203; re- 
making of, 99; spring work with, 98, 

99 

Leaf blight, 114; hopper, 114, 154; on 
roses, 154 

Lean-to greenhouse, making of, 212; 
required material, 215 

Legumes as cover crops, 190 

Lettuce for succession, 146; good va- 
rieties of, 26; growing under glass, 
278; planting of, 73; saving for use 
after frost, 274 

Lime, need of, 54; test for, 54 

Limestone, 54 

Liquid manure, 131, 64 

Liquid nitrate of soda, 64 

Lorraine begonia, 33 a 

M 

Manure, handling of, 51; for growing 
plants, 63; for hotbed, 43, 44; pre- 
paring for hotbeds, 262; substitutes 
for, 64 

Markets for plants, 85 

Materials for greenhouse work, 225 

Matted row for strawberries, 181 

Mealy bug, 137 

Melons, 26, 102; saving for use after 
frost, 270 

Mildew, 115, 137 

Moisture, in soil, need of, 50; retain- 
ing, 173 

Mulching, 297, 298, 302, 303, 304, 305; 
from rose bed, 77; kinds of, 149; to 
retain moisture, 149 

Muskmelons, putting in, 102; varieties 
of, 26 

N 

Narcissi, 230; distance apart, 229; 

forcing, 248 et seq. 
Nasturtiums, good points, 80 
Next summer's garden, when to start, 

336 



INDEX 



347 



Nitrate of soda, 53; amount to buy, 

uses of, 54; as top dressing, 130 
Nitrogen, deficiency of, 130 
Norfolk Island pine, 331, 332 
Nozzle-line irrigation, 151, 152 
Novelties, in seeds, 22; when to buy, 
341 

O 

Okra, general suggestions, 107; har- 
vesting, 271; putting in, 102 

Old lawn, renewing, 205 

Onions, fall sowing of, 222; for succes- 
sion, 73; garnishing, green, 73; har- 
vesting and storing, 272; planting 
of, 73; sets, 73; soil for, 73; varieties 
of, 26 

Overhead irrigation, 151, 152 

Oyster-shell scale, 114 



Painting garden implements, 4 

Paper pots, use of, 106 

Paris green, 139; as a rose insecticide, 

153 
Parsnips, for winter supply, 144, 275; 

planting of, 74; storing for winter, 

273; varieties of, 27 
Parsley, planting of, 74; varieties of, 27 
Peaches, varieties of, 60 
Pears, harvesting, 271, 272; varieties 

of, 60 
Peas for succession, 146; planting of, 

74; sweet, getting most out of, 80; 

varieties of, 27 
Peonies, best varieties, 206; planting, 

244; replanting of, 210; starting a 

bed, 206; varieties of, 245 
Peppers, general suggestions, plant- 
ing, 107; putting in, 102; varieties 

of, 27 
Perennial border, S8; border, need of 

drainage, 89; border, preparing, 90; 

garden, making of, 88 
Pergola, making a homemade, 159 



Perpetuals, hybrid, 78 

Petunias, value of, 81 

Phlox, selection of, 242 

Phosphoric acid, 53 

Picking, early, 134 

Plan, garden, data for, 30; fitting in 
crops, 3 1 ; following it, 33 ; for future 
development, 2; how to make, 1,2; 
importance of, 29; making of, 29, 
33; rules covering, 32; utility of, 

Plant food, available, 49; kinds of, 50; 
proportion of, 52, 53 

Planting, first, time of, 69; in dry 
weather, 104, 142; points on, 82; 
rule for, 69, 70; spring, 71; fall, 
207 

Plants, care of, 62 e^ seq., 63; failing, 
62; flower, buying of, 77, 123; 
flower, growing of, 76; flower, han- 
dling of, 76; food for, 63; for early 
use, 69; for the house, 194; from 
cuttings, 196; fumigating of, 67; 
hardening off, 68, 104; hardy, 67; 
helped by mulching, 149; in the 
house, 288; need of light, 65; nur- 
sery, handling of, Sy, pinching off, 
'68; potted, 47, 196; propagating 
by division, 41; protection of, 65; 
protection of from late frosts, 83, 
104; shading of, 105; shifting of, 
67; spraying of, 67; strawberry, 
180; taking from garden, 195; 
tender, starting in paper pots, 106; 
transplanting in summer, 105 

Plow, one horse swivel, 8 

Plowing, 61; with wheel hoe, 16 

Plums, varieties of, 60 

Pole beans, starting of in paper pots, 
106 

Poppies, good points of, 80 

Potash, 53; desirability of, 132 

Potato beetle, 137 

Potatoes for winter supply, 144; 
harvesting and storing, 27a 

Pots, paper, 67 



348 



INDEX 



Potted plants, soil for, 318, 319 
Potting, midsummer, 198 
Preparations for fall frosts, 223; for 

work under glass, 225 
Propagating bushes and shrubs, 321; 

small fruits, 100 
Protectors, early plants, 11; plant, 84 
Pruning, 325-327; roses, 77 
Pump, bucket, as a sprayer, 10 
Pumpkins for the winter supply, 143; 

winter storing, 270 
Putty, liquid, for glazing, 5 

R 

Radishes for succession, 147; growing 
under glass, 280; planting of, 74; 
storing for winter, 273; varieties of, 
27 

Rake, correct use of, 82 

Rakes, hoe blade attachment for, 8; 
garden, different types, 12 

Rambler roses, dwarf, 126 

Rape, 191 

Raspberries, distances apart, 57; va- 
rieties of, 58 

Refuse, 221 

Returns, from gardening, how deter- 
mined, 12 

Rhubarb bed, care of, 120; for winter 
use, 313 

Roads, construction of, 98 

Roguing, of plants, 22 

Roller, on lawn, 100 

Roots, forcing, 298; indoor forcing, 
312, 313; tree, in flower beds, 76, 77 

Roots, workers, insects attacking, 136 

Rose beetle, 137, 153; enemies, fight- 
ing, 153, 154; garden, 77; garden, 
first work in, 77; garden, when and 
how to prepare, 299; slug, 154 

Roses, bed for, 79; buying of, 78; dis- 
eases, 155; hybrid perpetuals, 78; 
large blooms, 78; potted, setting out 
of, 125, 126, 127; preparation of 
hardwood cuttings of, 268; protec- 
tion, 304; pruning of, 77, 78; rooting 



hardwood cuttings, 269; setting out, 
78, 79; summer mulching of, 156; 
summer pruning of, 156; varieties 

of, 125 

Rows, straight, importance of, 16; 

making, 16; marking out, 70 
Rubber plants, new, making, 197 
Rust, 115 
Rye, as cover crop, 190; soil binder, 

191 



Salsify for winter supply, 144; plant- 
ing of, 74; storing for winter, 273 

San Jose scale, 1 14 

Sash, double light, 257; for hotbeds 
and cold frames, 257; glazing, 5 

Scale, varieties of, 323, 324, 325 

Scillas, 268 

Sea kale, care of, 121 

Seed bed, for flowers, 76; for hare t 
perennials, 167; preparation 01, 
70; buying, points about, 22; cover- 
ing of, 40; depth of planting, 
70; drill, 10; drill, combination, 
cost of, 13; drill, seed-sowing with, 
16, 17; drill, utility and Ufe of, 13; 
flower, starting of, 75; hand plant- 
ing of, 71; hastening germination, 
83; longevity, 3; ordering, difl&cul- 
ties of, 21; sowing for winter supply, 
175; sowing, getting a good stand, 
176; sowing in dry weather, 142; 
sowing, with wheel hoe, 16, 17; 
starting of, 36-39; tender, starting, 
106; testing, 3, 4 

Seeding, lawn, 99 

Seedlings, handling and transplanting, 
40-42 

Selection, by seedsmen, 22 

Shrubs, 208, 209; for beds and borders, 
209; hardy, 235; planting of, 207, 
237) 238, 239; time to plant, 236; 
use of, 208; winter pruning of, 327, 
328 

Side-dressing, 130 



INDEX 



349 



Slopes, steep, care of, 98 

Snapping test, 337 

Snowdrops, 234, 268 

Sodding steep slopes, 98 

Soil, enriching of, 50; for lawn, 201; 
for seedlings, 39; for vegetable and 
flower seedlings, 34, 35; heavy, 61; 
materials for enriching, 51; need 
of moisture in, 50; sandy, 61; when 
to work, 6 1 

Soy beans, cover crop, 190 

Spade, correct use of, 82 

Spanish iris, 267 

Spinach, varieties of, 27 

Spray, powder or dust, 1 1 

Sprayer, compressed air, care of, 5; 
hand, different types, 10; need of a 
good, 138 

Spraying, general discussion, 108, 109; 
late, 223; machine, buying, 112; 
points on, 112; time, 112 

Sprays necessary, 109 

Sprinklers for irrigating, 151 

Squash borer, 137; bug, 137; for winter 
supply, 144; varieties of, 28; putting 
in, 102; winter storing, 270 

Squills, 234 

Storing of vegetables, preparation of 
place for, 275 

Strawberries, bed, making, main- 
taining, 118; bed, new, care of, 118, 
178; bed, new, location of, 180; bed, 
plants for, 91; bed, renewing old, 
179; bed, spring work with, 118; 
bed, start of, 91; distances apart, 57; 
fall fruiting, 118, 120; fall fruiting, 
varieties of, 182; hill system of, 182; 
matted row, 181; mulching, 182; 
plants, 180; plants for new bed, 181; 
soil for, 57,177; summer care of , 1 7 7 ; 
up to frost, 92; varieties of, 58, 92 

Succession crops, 145; plantings, mak- 
ing, 102 

Sucking insects, 135 

Summer house, constructing simple, 
161 



Summer mulching for roses, 156; prun- 
ing of roses, 156; work, 170 

Sun dial, 164 

Supports, for tomatoes and beans, 11; 
making of, 12; plant, 87 

Sweet corn for succession, 146; com, 
saving for use after frost, 271; peas, 
time of planting, 75; potatoes, har- 
vesting, 271 



Tall plants, protection, 306, 307 

Tankage, 53 

Teas, hybrid, 78; varieties of, 126 

Tender crops, putting in, 102; start- 
ing, 106 

Tent caterpillar, 113 

Thinning out, 133 

Tobacco dust, 139 , 

Tomatoes, care of, 171; for succession, 
147; general suggestions on plant- 
ing, etc., 107; growing under glass, 
279; putting in, 102; saving for use 
after frost, 271; supports, 171; va- 
rieties of, 28 

Tools, bujdng of, 12; care of, 4; chest, 
advantages of, 12; depreciation of, 
6, 7; garden, 3; garden, small, 20; 
keeping sharp, 86; necessity for 
good equipment, 6; outfit, garden, 
19; sharpening, 4; small, 19; small, 
points about, 20; special, for dif- 
ferent kinds of work, 7 

Top-dressing, 130 

Trained fruit, 297 

Training climbing roses, 157 

Transplanting, 67; celery plants, 184; 
hardy perennial plants, 168; in 
summer, 105; summer, 174; vege- 
tables in dry weather, 142 

Trees, cavities in, 309; how to repair 
old wounds and splits, 309, 310, 311; 
protection of, 312 

Trellises, grape arbor, preparing of, 
297; preservation of, 162; simple, 
163 



3SO 



INDEX 



Tulips, early and late, 229 
Turnips, for winter supply, 145; plant- 
ing of, 74; varieties of, 28 

V 

Varieties of geraniums, 124; of cane 
fruits, 58, 59; of tree fruits, 60; of 
vegetables, 23-28 

Vegetables, for late use, 176; for the 
fall garden, 145; for the winter 
supply, different kinds of, 141, 143, 
144, 145, 175; harvesting and stor- 
ing, 270; kinds and varieties for 
growing under glass, 277; picking of, 
134; storing for winter, 295; ventila- 
tion of stored, 296 

Verbenas, 81 

Vetch, as cover crop, 190 

Vine crops, preparing, putting in right, 
115; starting of, 106; summer care 
of, 172 

Vines for pergolas and trellises, 163; 
making grow, 163 

W 

Walks, different kinds of, 97, 99; good, 
97; making of, 97 



Water, various ways of applying, 
150 

Watering, best time for, 151; forms of, 
150; when transplanting, 67 

Watermelons, 28 

Weeders, hand, 19 

Weeding, fall, 221; first, 132; by hand, 
18 

Weeds, destruction of, 17; growth of, 
19; keeping out of lawns, 100; re- 
moving, 174 

Wheel hoe, in cultivation, 17 

White fly, 137 

Whips, 299 

Wild sorrel, 54 

Window conservatory, 317, 318; gar- 
den, air, light and temperature 
necessary, 316, 317 

Winter gardens, 288; preparation 
for, 302-307; pruning, 325-32 ; 
salads, 313; shrubs, 334, S3jl 
spraying, 322-325; supply, crops 
for, putting in, 103; supply of 
vegetables, 141; window garden, 

315, 321 
Wire, for trellises, etc., 297 
Wood ashes, 64 



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